Hey friends, it's Jer.
It’s only Tuesday and it already feels like Friday over here.
Today has echoes of the mid-2000s in Detroit sports and politics. Justin Verlander is back in a Tigers uniform. There was an altercation between the Pistons and the Hornets last night (reminding me of the "Malice at the Palace"). And, the people who own the Ambassador Bridge are in the local news.
Let’s get into a rundown of what to know today, a little ‘Eye Spy’ on an upcoming opening, and a look inside the now mostly empty Renaissance Center.
🌉 The billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge reportedly met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just hours before President Trump said he would block the opening of the new Gordie Howe bridge connecting Detroit to Canada. [New York Times]
The family has used lawsuits, lobbying, and political pressure for years to protect their private bridge from public competition. [99% Invisible]
🚙 Ford had a rough quarter, with profit from its main business cut about in half to $1 billion and earnings coming in below what Wall Street expected. [CNBC] [Reuters]
A fire at a key aluminum supplier and unexpected tariff costs added up to nearly $900 million in extra hits.
On paper, Ford showed an $11.1 billion loss, largely from earlier write-downs on its EV bets, and it expects to pay about $2 billion in tariffs this year.
Looking past what was its worst miss in four years, CEO Jim Farley is pushing investors to focus on 2025 and 2026, promising tighter costs and a pivot to cheaper, more practical EVs to compete with both Detroit rivals and rising Chinese automakers.
🛎️ The historic Park Avenue Building in downtown Detroit — at the edge of Grand Circus Park — might become a hotel with more than 100 rooms. [Crain's Detroit Business]
🌎 Only 1% of Michigan's historic lake plain wet prairies still exist, and one is under threat. The Michigan Land Conservancy is racing to raise $6 million by year's end to save the 440-acre Sibley Prairie in Brownstown Township in Wayne County from development. [The News Herald]
Much of southeast Michigan used to be prairie. It hosts endangered bees, rare butterflies, and native wildflowers you won't find anywhere else.
If you care about this kind of thing, the conservancy is taking donations and sharing volunteer opportunities on the Save Sibley Prairie site. [Save Sibley Prairie]
🎭 The Detroit Opera just scored a major win: a $3 million grant from the Fred & Barbara Erb Family Foundation. The funding will support operations and help reimagine the Opera House for modern audiences, expanding the range of performances, artists, and experiences. [Detroit Opera]
🚏 SMART, the suburban transit authority, just launched free WiFi on buses, starting with the FAST routes along Michigan, Woodward, and Gratiot. About 50 buses getting T-Mobile connectivity so riders can work, stream, stay connected during their commute.
There's also a Valentine's Day shuttle service called "SMART After Dark" this Saturday. [SMART]
Pączki Season Hits High Gear with the Return of Detroit City Distillery’s Beloved Pączki Day Party on Saturday, Feb. 14
Ah, Pączki Season in metro Detroit — a time of freezing temperatures, intermittent snow, and delightfully buttery, crispy-creamy pastries known as pączki. Detroit City Distillery, known for its cult-favorite Pączki Day Vodka — a limited-release spirit distilled with real pączki sourced from Hamtramck — will once again host its annual Pączki Day Party on Saturday, February 14, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This year’s celebration will be bigger than ever, featuring expanded activities and vendors made possible by the move to the distillery’s brand-new event space, 100 Proof, located at 1000 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. Admission is free and open to the public.
Note: Guests must be 21 or older to purchase or consume alcohol.
Party highlights include:
- Live music by Crampton Brothers (11 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
- Polish ice luge
- Ice carving
- Shotski
- Pączki Day Spirits for Sale – Original Raspberry, Orange Cream, Poland X Detroit, Polish Daisy Bottled Cocktail and Jeżynówka Bourbon
- New Pączki Day merchandise
- Appearances by Mr. Pączki Head
- Food by Srodek's Campau Quality Sausage Co. and other Polish favorites
How Pączki Day Vodka Is Made
Pączki Day Vodka is created by distilling pączki in a blend of 100 percent Michigan and Polish potato vodka, using a 500-gallon copper pot still. The result is a crystal-clear, one-of-a-kind spirit that is smooth, buttery, and finishes with unmistakable pączki character.
Free of artificial ingredients, flavors, or sweeteners, PDV is designed to showcase the authentic taste of handmade, glazed raspberry pączki from Hamtramck. It can be enjoyed chilled, over ice, mixed into cocktails, or as a traditional pączki chaser.
👀 Eye Spy
🍔 I saw that a new "Just Smash It!" location is coming together near Mack and Lenox on the city's east side. There are currently three spots; one in Detroit on Jefferson Avenue, one in Warren, and one in Ford Field.
It's expected to open in the coming weeks. It's in the former long-standing Maison's Fine Food that closed about three years ago, and you'll see it on the left, next to a building that has a giant cow head.
👔 The Office Coffee Shop in downtown Royal Oak is closing after 11 years. [FB]
The final day of service is Thursday, March 5. Cheers to a place I've been to a bunch of times when I needed to have a coffee meeting in the suburbs.
I've been fielding more requests lately for coffee shops that are laptop-friendly, and that's a list I'll need to work on soon.
☕️ James Oliver is expanding their cafe locations yet again, this time Trenton. Now in "soft opening" phase daily from 8a-3p at 2360 West Jefferson. [FB]
They offer specialty coffee, bagels, pastries and more, with three open locations in the city and one in Wyandotte. Their flagship location is in Detroit's Corktown at Michigan and the Lodge.
🧇 It's the end of the line for the restaurant version of Kuzzo's Chicken and Waffles on Livernois on the Avenue of Fashion. They're hanging up the griddle after 11 years. They say to stay tuned for what's next, without sharing more details. [Instagram]
Norris will be sharing some of his favorite memories from the spot on tomorrow's Daily Detroit podcast.
☕️ Kitab Cafe and Bookstore is taking over the old Starbucks at the Detroit Medical Center. They already have locations in Hamtramck on Holbrook and in Detroit on Willis in a former Avalon Cafe location.
They serve coffee, pastries, and halal sandwiches, with a focus on being a welcoming third space. [Instagram]
👻 I'm going to leave you tonight not with music, but a kind of eerie look at the now (mostly) closed Renaissance Center. This walking tour was taken at the end of last month — and what stands out to me is the fact the cars are all gone from their displays.
I have a ton of memories of this place over the years, all the way back to when there was an active movie theatre inside and I'd go regularly.
Plans call for demolishing two of the riverfront towers, keeping the hotel, turning one remaining tower into offices, and another into residential.
We've gone through the plans on the podcast many times. Here's one example, talking about the rehab cost of each tower being half a billion bucks.
Although some restaurants are hanging on — Highlands at the top of the main tower says it’s doing ‘very well,’ even as the rest of the complex empties out.
Today, I heard that Franco Public Relations is making the move after decades in tower 400 to an office above The Fillmore on Woodward.
Thanks so much for reading!
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