New Spots Opening Soon & What Michelin Means for Detroit (w/ Melody Baetens)

The Michelin Guide is bringing its Great Lakes ceremony to Detroit next April, and people have a lot of questions. What does a Michelin presence actually mean for our local food scene? How do diners, chefs, and journalists navigate the hype?

To break it down, Detroit News restaurant critic Melody Baetens stopped by the TechTown studio. We talk about what those stars actually represent, what inspectors look for, and why the national spotlight is shifting toward the Great Lakes.

Plus, Melody recently put together a list of 25 new and returning restaurants expected to open across Metro Detroit.

We run through some of the big highlights — from long-awaited returns like Cass Cafe and Highgrade Deli to fresh concepts like Agnes in West Village, Aurora Italiana, Slutty Vegan, Mike's Red Tacos, and Spiedo on West Canfield.

Check out Melody’s full list on The Detroit News: 25 Restaurants Expected to Open Soon in Metro Detroit

New Spots Opening Soon & What Michelin Means for Detroit w Melody Baetens

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Hello friends, and welcome to your Daily Detroit for Thursday, September 17th, 2026. I am Jer Staes, coming to you

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from our studio at TechTown, and I am very honored to have across the table from me a repeat return

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welcomed guest, Melody Baetens from The Detroit News. We're going to talk about restaurants, food, and so much more. Welcome

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back to the show. So good to see you. Thanks, Jer. Thanks for having me. Well, you've got a couple

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of uh things I want to talk about, but before we get into it, you know, a lot of people

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have been asking me questions about a thing that has gotten a lot of attention, and that thing is the

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Michelin Guide, and their ceremony is actually going to be coming to Detroit next April. Why don't we talk about

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that for a little bit and like why Michelin matters and kind of how it sits in the context

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of food, you know, how diners make decisions, journalism, all that. Yes, I think to put it plainly, Michelin

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means money. It means tourism. It means attention, spotlight. It's a French tour guide, basically. They write guides to where

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to eat. They've done it all over the world. They have not come to Detroit. They are in Detroit and

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have been in Detroit as well as, I think, five other Great Lakes cities. Those cities' kind of tourism boards,

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groups have pooled their money to get Michelin because you do have to kind of entice them. It's a lot

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of work, involves a lot of people. So they announced that, I believe, in Minneapolis a couple months ago, and

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this month they announced that Detroit's getting the first ceremony for all of these cities, these six cities that are

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going to be part of the America Great Lakes Michelin guide. So we can expect a lot of people

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coming from other cities, a lot of chefs that are hoping to get Michelin stars or a Michelin-like connotation

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or a Bib Gourmand, which is kind of like Michelin saying like, "Hey, this place has got great food and

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is a good value and you should check it out." But I think to your point, like people do travel

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to Michelin-starred restaurants, and when they do come to town, a lot of them think, "Well, is there a

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Michelin star restaurant around here we can check out?" I've done it, you know, and especially in the shadow

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of Chicago, which has had Michelin for, I think, 20 years now, maybe 15 years. You know, that's why they're

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not included in this group, which is a big question people ask, "Well, how come Chicago's done it?" Chicago's had

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their own guide for many years. So it's exciting that we're hosting it. I hope that means we're getting stars,

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but I can't say, I have no idea. Yeah, no one really knows because it's not something that you can

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apply for, right? No, you have to be a great restaurant, you have to be consistent. Michelin has a

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set of standards that they look for, whether the restaurant's in Paris or, you know, LA or Detroit now. So

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we're going to be held to those same standards. And I think that expectations should be tempered. I can't get

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you into the ceremony if people have asked; I'm not even invited yet, like I have no idea. You have

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to be invited to go. So you've been to Michelin star restaurants. What, in general, like in a wider sense,

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sets them apart or or gives it that extra layer, shall I say *je ne sais quoi*, since it's French? I think what

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they're looking for is a lot of consistency. I have not been lucky enough to go to any of the

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same starred restaurants consistently, you know, maybe once. A lot of them are tasting menus, and we do have a

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lot of those around here. Michelin does seem to like a restaurant that does a tasting menu, and that does

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lend to consistency if you're, you know, a chef that's putting your best foot forward with a set menu

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that you're not really taking an order, and it just gives it more room to be perfect, I think.

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And I think that's what they look for. They're also very expensive. They're also in like metropolitan areas. I've

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been to one in Amsterdam and two in Chicago. And yeah, it's, you know, you have to

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be really, really, really good. And then there's the immense stress of, you know, when you get a star, is

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keeping it, because they'll come back next year and they'll make sure you continue to deserve it, that one or

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two star rating. Now, some people when this news came out said, "You know, is Detroit a Michelin town?

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Is the kind of food that we produce, like does that vibe with Michelin? Does that resonate?" What

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do you think of that? Of course we are. I think we could get a couple stars. I think there's

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restaurants around here that could really wow them. You know, Detroit and Paris have always had a little bond,

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and I hope the Midwest—exactly, I hope they see that. I have high hopes. And yeah, you never

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know. I don't know what they're going to do. I'm excited to see, and I'm excited to see who

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they select out of it. And you know, what might be interesting, it might be something we don't even expect.

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Exactly, yeah. Because they do not disclose their criteria, but I've also listened to podcasts with chefs who

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talk about getting a Michelin star, what it takes to get one, and then some of them being like, "Hey,

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just do your thing and if you happen to get the star, great," which I thought was really interesting

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as well. Great, yep, exactly. So all right, well, I also want to talk about some of what is coming

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to Detroit. You have a great article up on The Detroit News: "25 restaurants expected to open soon in Metro

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Detroit." We are not going to talk about all 25, but we are going to get into some highlights in

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a few different categories, favorites—I know you don't have favorites, but I'll call them favorites. And of course, we'll

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put a link to the full list in the show notes. But why don't we start with some of the

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favorite returns? One that I was really excited about, Cass Cafe. As a former resident of the Cultural Center,

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Cass Cafe was a real standby, and I'm so glad to see that looking like it's going to

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come back. Yeah, it closed I think four years ago, and it's coming back. A nonprofit in Detroit called the

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Chalfont Foundation is bringing it back. These are people that are within the arts community, and they remember

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the same Cass Cafe that we remember. They're working on a menu, they're working on drinks, I know they intend

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to have a full bar, they intend for it to be a community space, lots of artwork, neighborhood

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meetings, and things like that. It's not, you know, a big business or big corporation bringing something back. Like, I

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feel like this is like a connective tissue between Detroit now and Detroit as people knew

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it when they were in college or even 5 years ago or even pre-pandemic. I'm very excited. I think

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there's an authenticity behind it, and people are going to be really excited. I know people are really excited. Well,

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I got to tell you, Cass Cafe was always one of those restaurants where it tasted good, and I also

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always had enough food, 'cause that's a thing. Yeah, good portions, good hearty food, and they really want to focus

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on nutritious food that is good. And then is it technically Corktown? Is it counted as Corktown,

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Hygrade? You know, you have to—if you're coming from downtown, you pretty much drive through Corktown too.

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But you know what, that's another long-standing establishment that people are going to be excited

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about. Yes, the gal that bought Mike's Ham Place next door, she bought Padera Deli from—it was in

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receivership, I believe, so she got it. She's going to open it this fall. She remembers how it was, the

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original—not the original owner, but the man that owned it for a long time, Stew. He's going to

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come back and, you know, kind of help her set up, so I think people are going to see a

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lot of the things that they love there, hopefully. But most importantly is it's going to not be empty; it's

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going to be open, the lights are going to be on. Listen, I am all about sandwiches. I spent an entire afternoon

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at the Detroit Sandwich Party. I love it, it was so much fun, and we've got an episode coming where

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we actually interviewed nearly a dozen people about sandwiches. That's great, I'm so excited to share it. Let me talk about

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some completely brand new things that are coming. Okay, let's see. Where should we start? Agnes in West Village. This

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is a big deal because it's the folks behind Selden Standard, which is basically, you know, people say, "What's the

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best restaurant in Detroit?" I hear Selden Standard a lot. One could argue that it's the standard. Yes, so this

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is where Metropolitan Pizza Kitchen was. This is where, you know, it's right on Agnes. It's been Craft

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Work—that was it before Metropolitan Pizza Kitchen. So it's been a restaurant on this block in the neighborhood of

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West Village for a while, but now you've got, you know, Evan Hansen and Andy Hollyday have teamed up with

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Alex Jewell and Paul Fradeneck,

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and they're going to do like a neighborhood thing. Like, I think people are really excited. They don't have

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a lot of details for me yet. I want a neighborhood thing, yeah. I live over there, and I

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remember my grandmother was a regular at what used to be the Harlequin Cafe in that spot, and I

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remember being taken there by her when I was like real little. And I want that there. We need

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more of those like neighborhood spots over there, especially, you know, there's so many residents right in that area, so

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much energy not just in Indian Village and West Village, but there's all those new homes over on Fischer, there's

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the Riverwards Market that's coming, you know, near there. There's a lot of energy happening, but I really feel

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like neighborhood spots are going to be a good thing over there. Yeah, and it's tricky 'cause if

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they're too good, then people from other neighborhoods want to eat there too. So it's like a sticky situation,

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but I think they'll do well. I know the neighborhood is very excited

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for them to come in. It'll be open hopefully later in 2026, so later in the fall. You know what

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they should do is they should set up like a little jar and buy a dinner for somebody in the

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neighborhood if you're in from outside of the neighborhood. Also, one that I wanted to mention 'cause

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I don't know much about it, Aurora Italiana. Yeah, so there's an Aurora Italiana restaurant—there's two in Oakland County,

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and I've been to the one in West Bloomfield and it's a very nice, very colorful, very hospitality-forward Italian restaurant.

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This is from the same restaurant group that does Sexy Steak, and this is right around the corner from

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Sexy Steak. So this is an Aurora Italiana for downtown Detroit, so it's the third one, but the group's already

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been in the area because they have Sexy Steak. So that's pretty much—I would expect a little of both

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vibes, but it's definitely going to be upscale Italian. Have you ever eaten at Sexy Steak? I have not. What

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makes the steak sexy? I have so many questions. I think that the vibes are definitely sexy, like

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there's a lot of glossiness to the whole decor, and there was a big pair of red lips in the

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ladies' room, like a sculpture. And there's just a—it's very vibe, like it's like the kids say, it's

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all aesthetic. But the food was very good, and it was very expensive, and it was definitely an

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experience. Well, from sexy to slutty: Slutty Vegan is coming. It is, and this is a national brand. They've got

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locations all over. I think, I believe they started in Atlanta. They're coming to Michigan and Trumbull, essentially where Pizzeria Michigan

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and Trumbull was on West Elizabeth. I don't know what makes it slutty, but it's all going to

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be vegan. I think it's just more of the vibe, like, you know, colorful, fun, playful, more of like

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kind of what Street Beet does, where it takes on fast food or comfort food. And I think Street Beet

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is doing so well that I think that the area can definitely sustain another fun and modern vegan restaurant. That's

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really good to hear too. That's really good to hear, I'm not worried. Yeah, I think it's going to be

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fine. There are so many restaurants right in that little set of blocks right there. Like, I think about

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where that was, remembering picking up a pizza there back in the day, and you walk through and it's so different

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even than like 10 years ago. I remember it used to be kind of flat behind in the streets back

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there, and now you've got all those apartment buildings and everything. It's quite a shift. Yeah, it's

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developing, as they say. Yes, as they say. So let's talk about second or multiple locations, maybe something

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that is new to us. Something that's new to the Metro Detroit area is coming in: Mike's Red

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Tacos is opening in Royal Oak, and that's going to be the first of like 15 locations they want to

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do in Michigan. This is like birria tacos, so their big thing is the beefy birria tacos

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with the consommé that you dip in, which we have here, of course. We have all over Southwest, all over

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the suburbs, we have a lot of great places, but this is more of like a casual chain, and they're

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coming in. So you'll see a lot of them opening up in the next couple years, but the

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first one is opening later this year on Woodward between, like, I think it's going to be like between 13

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and 14. So yeah, look out for that. The pictures look really good, food looks good. Yeah, I'm

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definitely checking it out.

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Yeah, without a doubt. And that's a good corridor, too. There's a ton of people who live

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over there, there's the hospital, exactly. There's a ton of traffic that goes up and down.

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Woodward is just crazy busy. So, and then there's another one over on Canfield Street, is it

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West Canfield? Yes, on West Canfield right by Cass. Spiedo—I think we're going to call it Spiedo. You

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know what, dailydetroit@gmail.com, send in your corrections. We're going to go with Spiedo. Well, I've heard the owner and

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the chef say it to me, but I still, you know, like I type things, I write things, I'm not

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always saying them out loud. It's S-P-I-E-D-O. It's opening where Jolly Pumpkin was. There's an

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Ann Arbor location that's been open, and if you know, you know, because this food is really good. This is

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Chef Brad Greenhill's project. He's from Takoi, he has roots in Ann Arbor and Detroit, so he's opening this

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soon, they say. I've seen some renderings, but expect like Mediterranean-ish, Middle Eastern-ish, lots of grilled vegetables, lots of grilled

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meats, sandwiches, salads. They're going to be able to do a little bit more than they do at the

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Ann Arbor location 'cause this is bigger. This is definitely going to be a sit-down restaurant. Think a little

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bit about, if you remember what Brad was doing at Magnet, with like a lot of open flame, a lot

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of wood-fired. Oh, I have some friends who absolutely loved that place. I mean, it was really good, but I

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have some friends that would just rave about it. Yeah, so I think this is—you know, Jolly Pumpkin

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closed there a couple months ago and left a left a hole in this little strip that's like great for

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shopping, great for people, you know, visitors and locals to kind of like hang out. There's a dog park, there's

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City Bird's there, Motor City Brewing Works is there, Third Man, Shinola, it's

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just a fun spot. It's a good honey hole of like things to do and things to

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eat. Oh, for sure. That whole corner there, you know, you've got Ghost Light, though I do believe

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that Cold Truth is leaving—I heard that, that is what I heard. And then the other thing, do you

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have any idea—I got to ask, I don't know—the old Traffic Jam & Snug space, have you

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heard anything? No, and I've tried to find out. I should try again, it's my quarterly time to try

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again. You set a reminder to go look for it. See, I just want the fried pickles back. I know,

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it's one of the places people miss the most. Yeah, well, listen, there are so many great places to

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check out, and you're going to want to go to The Detroit News to do it. The article is "25

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restaurants expected to open soon in Metro Detroit." We will put a link in the show notes. Melody Baetens, Detroit

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News restaurant critic and reporter, thank you so much for your time on Daily Detroit. Come back now, you hear?

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I will, thank you. All right, and we are done for today. Thank you so much for listening to your

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Daily Detroit. You want to keep local media going, you know what you need to support it, and you can

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remember that you are somebody and we'll see you around Detroit.