See what’s new at The Whitney

Detroit’s legendary Whitney restaurant closed shop for one week in January for kitchen upgrades and early spring housecleaning.  The restaurant reopened on January 19 with new menus, new programs and key new staff. Executive Chef Mark Donovan joins The Whitney team after more than a decade with Walt Disney properties in Florida. A graduate of Schoolcraft College’s Arts and Hospitality program, Donovan is a native Detroiter who’s “happy to be back home in Detroit with friends and family and proud to be part of The Whitney team.” Danny Hochrein, also a native Detroiter, joins The Whitney as its new Certified Sommelier. Longtime Whitney sous chef, Gary Jones, will lead the culinary team in the mansion’s popular third floor Ghost Bar where special Prime Rib dinners will make a comeback starting on Wednesday nights, possibly expanding to more nights later in the year. The Ghost Bar’s happy hours are also returning from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday nights, plus 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday evenings, with reduced prices on food and drink.  Happy hour will feature a new bar menu plus The Whitney’s “Witching Hour” martini, the Witch’s Hat Brewery’s “Ghost of the Whitney” IPA, and the Whitney’s “Sparkling Celebration” wine from the Mawby winery in the Leelanau Peninsula. The Whitney dinner menu in the restaurant’s first and second floor dining rooms has been revamped to offer complete three course dinners. In addition to the regular menu, Chef Donovan and Sommelier Hochrein have created unique collaborative high value three-course dinners that will include wine pairings and special services. The collaborative menus will change seasonally throughout the year to take advantage of the freshest foods and zestiest wines available. “We’re excited about what we accomplished in a tough year last year and think what we have planned for this year will keep our past diners coming back and new ones coming in,” says The Whitney’s owner, Bud Liebler. “The Whitney has been an iconic Woodward Avenue landmark for nearly 130 years and one of the city’s most popular restaurants for nearly 50 years. We want to keep both of those records going.” 4421 Woodward Avenue, Detroit. thewhitney.com