Opening their second location in Birmingham was a no brainer for Kaku Sushi & Poké. “We’ve always been kind of drawn to Birmingham and the community,” said manager Maikue Vang. “When an opportunity came we definitely wanted to take advantage of it.” Owner and chef Kaku Usui – who is also Vang’s husband – has created a menu very similar to their Bloomfield Township spot at 869 W. Long Lake Road, at Telegraph, except there are a few more Japanese sushi rolls. Their signature Hawaiian poké is still very much on the menu at the new location, 126 S. Old Woodward Avenue, which is about 1,600-square-feet and seats 20. Kaku Sushi & Poké has now opened two restaurants in under two years, so what come

The highly anticipated Gran Castor – run by the Curt Catallo and wife Ann Stevenson restaurant development company Union Joints – has opened for dinner with a unique flair, and in a unique location. Home to a former Hooters restaurant at 2950 Rochester Road in Troy, Stevenson, who also served as the restaurant’s designer, described their latest project as Latin street food set in “the funkiest rec room ever.” After already having success with their Clarkston restaurant Honcho, where they also do Latin street food, the company decided to bring that flavor to Gran Castro. While Stevenson is partial to their avocado salad – a mix of grilled avocado, spiced nuts, spring mix, and queso fresco, to

Originally planned for the former Eden Nightclub, 22061 Woodward Avenue, Bobcat Bonnie’s will now open its Ferndale location at 240 W. Nine Mile Road, formerly home to Zeke’s Rock and Roll BBQ. “It’s a better fit, to be honest,” said owner Matt Buskard. “Its crazy how one door closes and a better door opens.” With hopes for an end of fall opening Buskard said the Ferndale restaurant will be the same in regard to menu and concept as their Corktown and Wyandotte locations. They plan to have the whole Bobcat experience – dinner, lunch, and brunch services – going full tilt within two months of opening and are just plain excited to be in Ferndale. “I think we’re going to fit in like a glove ther

What does being this year’s winner of the $50,000 prize in the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest mean to Toma Detroit? “Winning it gives us a foot in the door...it gives us a chance to really get this project off the ground,” said Jose Maldonado, one of the restaurants four partners. “It’s an unbelievable feeling.” The money will go towards securing their liquor license that comes with the building – once home to Casey’s Pub at 1830 Michigan Avenue, Detroit – and beginning to build out the space, adding an additional 300-square-feet. While their original plan was to be in Mexicantown, they felt there weren’t any Latin restaurants in Corktown. “I feel like we’re bridging a cultural gap between t

Got a hankering for an original Buffalo wing? Head directly to the new Anchor Bar, which just located at 2945 S. Rochester Road in Rochester Hills. Anchor Bar was the spot, in Buffalo, New York, which created the delicacy known as wings – an unbreaded chicked wing which they deep-fried and then coated in a hot sauce. Anchor Bar serves more than 1 million pounds of chicken every year, and with the opening of the Rochester Hills location, this American classic is available locally. “We are extremely excited to open the first Anchor Bar in Michigan and continue this almost 55-year tradition of serving the best Buffalo Wings in America,” said franchisee Gordon Sesh. “My partners Raj Ven and Ra

Next year the Cuban-inspired restaurant, Frita Batidos, will expand to downtown Detroit on Columbia Street, near the Fox Theatre and the new Little Caesars World Headquarters. For owner Eve Aronoff, this is a long time coming. Aronoff, who originally gained fame for her high-end gourmet restaurant Eve, in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown, switched her focus to Frita Batidos, which is her interpretation of Cuban street food. Fritas are traditional Cuban burgers; batidos are tropical milkshakes. Aronoff has been actively searching for a space to put the second restaurant – the original Frita Batidos is currently in Ann Arbor – for the last few years. Aronoff said the essence will be same, as will most of

With bars opening all over metro Detroit, Cait Pluto, Jake Goodrich, and Jennifer Sandella wanted to make sure their bar would stand out. Enter Barter – located at 11601 Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck – which will not only be a bar but a community arts space. “For us, it’s really about the arts and that’s kind of where this idea came from, and the bar sort of followed,” said Pluto, who is the marketing director of the unique combined space. “It just seemed like the perfect match.” With hopes of opening later this fall, ideally in late November/early December, Pluto said they want to have five acts a week once they open, ranging from live music to theater, with a focus on local artists. As

Once a food truck, Norma G’s officially opened their brick-and-mortar spot August 17 according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. Named after his mom, Norma G’s owner and chef Lester Gouvia is bringing Caribbean comfort food to 14700 E. Jefferson Avenue in Detroit with a menu that has many items familiar to those who enjoyed the food truck, including jerk chicken sliders. He’s also bringing flavors from his Trinidadian upbringing, such as doubles – a mix of chickpeas and onions served between fried dough that’s a popular Trinidadian street food. The sit-down restaurant will also offer a full bar.

So far, since opening, things have been going well for Tomatoes Apizza’s newest addition, a Birmingham location at 34200 Woodward Ave. “I love Birmingham – it’s amazing,” said owner Mike Weinstein. “The people are so amazingly nice. I just feel like the community’s amazingly great.” The 1,400-square-foot spot, adjacent to Papa Joe’s, will offer carryout and delivery, but no sit-down service like their Farmington locations. The New Haven style pizza (which means that it’s thin-crust and cooked in a coal-fired oven) will be just as delicious though, with offerings like the green pizza, topped with mozzarella, spinach, and garlic; crab pizza; and the Naples Sampler, which is each a quarter of