Brome readies its new Detroit location that includes a pedestrian bridge juice bar

Fast casual burger and smoothie restaurant Brome Modern Eatery is putting the final touches on its second location, which is planned for Shelby and West Congress streets in downtown Detroit’s Financial District.

Chef Zane Makky tells Metro Times that the fast casual restaurant at 607 Shelby St. is targeting a May opening. Among the highlights are several minor changes to the menu and a juice bar will be stationed on a pedestrian bridge running between the 607 Building and the neighboring State Savings Bank building.

Makky says the new location's menu will include five new sauces — truffle aioli, maple sriracha, garlic-cilantro, chipotle ketchup, and honey mustard — that are used for fries or substituted in any of the sandwiches and burgers.


The new eatery will also offer quarterly specials specific to it, like carne asada fries comprised of hand cut potatoes served under flank steak that's prepared with Mexican spices. Another is the European cookie butter milkshake made with Brome’s vanilla bean custard that’s prepared in house and blended with Guernsey milk.

Makky says specials are also in the works for the Balence Bar, a component that Brome installed after opening its Dearborn location so it could offer healthier options. Most fruits and vegetables used in Brome's juices are organic and non-GMO; Makky packed in superfoods as much as possible; he makes the almond mylk in house; and no sugar or artificial sweeteners are added to the drinks.


Among the varieties are the Ocean Breeze (strawberry, banana, acai, agave nectar, raw honey, and almond mylk) and Creamy Mango Tango (mango, orange, avocado, lime zest, flax seed, chili powder, and maple syrup).

Brome also uses only non-GMO and organic ground beef, its entire menu is made from scratch, and its buns are baked each morning at a nearby bakery. It also makes its custard for its shakes in house and doesn’t add any high fructose corn syrup. Makky attributes that approach to the Dearborn location’s success. It opened in 2015, and he says now is the time to expand the brand.

“Our first location doing extremely well, and we wanted to expand to downtown Detroit where there’s a growing restaurant scene, and a lot of great opportunity,” he tells us. “And we felt like it would be a perfect spot to incorporate a fast casual restaurant. We thought we could add something unique."

The menu includes burgers like the Dante's Heaven (turkey bacon, braised onions, cherry pepper relish, ghost pepper jack cheese, and sweet habanero) or the Wild Mushroom (wild mushroom Swiss cheese, arugula, braised onion, and mustard grain aioli).

Brome also offers several vegetarian options that include the Impossible Burger or a vegan patty made in house. Aside from burgers, Makky offers sandwiches like a Nashville hot chicken and a pub-style fried fish (haddock, coleslaw, tomato, rémoulade). Sides include different salads, hand cut fries, and options like chili cheese tots (chili, sour cream, cheese sauce, and scallion).

“We are taking the image of an American classic and changing the way we view it,” Makky says. “You’re used to seeing ‘burger joints' that offer nothing more than a simple burger with fries and soda. We used these key aspects to build on our concept, and we work with better ingredients, and offer a better and more humane way to live.”


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