Cover Story
The brunch craze has finally conquered all comers in the Motor City
When we at Metro Times throw an event celebrating brunch (United We Brunch, Saturday, April 1 at the Garden Theater), doesn’t it mean that the rise of the mid-morning meal has become irreversible? Brunch is big business, an increasingly important part of the dining scene, a meal restaurants depend on. As for the economics of…
State legislators will introduce resolution opposing Nestlé’s water grab
Two state representatives say they’ll introduce a resolution opposing approval of Nestlé Waters North America’s plans to withdraw tens of millions of more gallons of water from Michigan. The resolution, to be introduced by state Reps. Terry J. Sabo (D-Muskegon) and Robert Wittenberg (D-Oak Park), urges Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to reject Nestlé…
19 extraordinary things to do in metro Detroit this week
Wednesday, 4/5 Chicano Batman @ El Club What are you doing tonight? Chicano Batman is a quartet from Los Angeles, and their music, which dabbles in a psychedelic hodgepodge of updated Tropicalia so fervent that you feel like you’re at the beach, definitely reflects that. Totally go to this, OK. Their music definitely radiates a…
Betsy DeVos’ brother reportedly held a secret meeting to connect Trump with Russia before inauguration
Another piece to the Trump-Russia puzzle with was unearthed yesterday when The Washington Post published a report about Erik Prince — the billionaire and founder of Blackwater, and brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos — who reportedly was in the middle of a secret meeting in the Seychelles islands brokered by the United Arab Emirates in early January…
Tonight at Otus Supply: Mipso brings the Appalachian folk-rock
The finest in contemporary Appalachian music at Ferndale’s newest venue DATE: Tuesday, April 4th WHERE: Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile, Ferndale TIME: Show starts at 8 p.m.; $15 at door, $10 in advance. PURCHASE TICKETS: https://www.showclix.com/event/mipso6029863 There are lot’s of reasons to come out to Otus Supply in Ferndale tonight — Tuesday, April 4.…
Better Made chips is switching its sign for a new, better made one
With an out of date slogan and faded colors, the Better Made chip company has decided it’s time to replace the classic Gratiot Avenue sign. It was announced that on April 10 the old sign will take a rest and the new one will officially take over. The updated sign will more closely resemble the…
Report says Detroit is beating Silicon Valley in autonomous car research
Detroit is often cited as a symbol of American manufacturing’s decline and Silicon Valley is heralded as the cutting edge of technology. But when it comes to autonomous vehicles that could be changing. A new study conducted by Navigant Research ranked 18 companies that are developing self-driving vehicle technology. Two of Detroit’s Big Three ranked the highest, with General…
Today’s nostalgic 1980s double bill brings Echo and the Bunnymen and Violent Femmes to Meadow Brook in July
Today we are informed that Echo and the Bunnymen and Violent Femmes will perform on July 18 at the Meadow Brook Ampitheatre. Tickets will be $69.50, $47.50 and $35 in the pavilion and $25 on the lawn. They go on sale this Friday, April 7 at 10 a.m. at Palacenet.com, the Palace’s physical ticket store, and of…
Eastern Market and Michigan food processor promise locals nutritious food and jobs
Michigan farmers produce over 300 commodities, making us the second most diverse agriculture industry in the country, beat out only by California. Yet, many Detroiters lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables. You may have heard the city referred to as a “food desert.” Things are getting better as restaurants begin to focus on featuring…
Dave Chappelle will return to Detroit for three shows, just hopefully not high
We sort of had a feeling that Dave Chappelle might be coming back to Detroit to redeem himself, but we had no idea that he would be doing it so quickly. The legendary comedian will play three shows at the Fillmore, May 23-25, to what will hopefully be a smoother ride than his last few…
Study says Michigan was bombarded with fake news during 2016 campaign
A study released by Oxford University in England last week found that Michigan Twitter feeds were flooded with fake news between Nov. 1 and 11. According to the study (titled “Junk News and Bots during the U.S. Election: What Were Michigan Voters Sharing Over Twitter?”), fake news was widely shared from Michigan users. By the study’s estimate, 46.5…
Revival, a ‘new American craft kitchen,’ opens today in Waterford
Revival Eatery, a new American spot that’s the newest product from Clarkston’s Pizza Dolce owners Dan and Natasha Nestorovski, is now open in Waterford. The menu features a range of takes on poutine, mac and cheese, burgers, sandwiches, cheese curds, and a few desserts. The Nestorovskis tapped Chad Barrett (a recent winner of the Food Network’s…
Update: Mike Epps apologizes for Detroit kangaroo incident
Updated 7:50 a.m., Tuesday, April 4: Comedian Mike Epps has apologized for bringing a kangaroo onstage. In a video posted to TMZ, Epps said he would donate to the kangaroo-preservation foundation Viva! When asked if he thought the kangaroo should be taken away from the owner, Epps said he didn’t think the kangaroo should be brought out…
Did the new blow-dry bar have to be named ‘Detroit Blows’?
Remember a few months ago when we wrote about a proposed bar called “Hoffa’s Hideout” that would feature the tagline “A place to disappear”? We followed the 24-hour turnaround, which involved the owner, Grand Rapids native Matt Buskard, nixing plans to rename Casey’s Bar after the union head who vanished in 1975. It turns out…
Atomic Chicken’s Detroit location to open April 12
The long wait for Atomic Chicken’s New Center location is nearly over. A large sign on the window proclaims that the chicken shop is scheduled to start serving on April 12. The restaurant, which is opening in a former Popeyes at 6500 Woodward Ave. near Milwaukee Avenue, is the second in metro Detroit – the…
The Detroit Tigers will honor Mike Ilitch with fitting tribute
The Tigers are remembering Mike Ilitch with a "Mr. I" outfield design. pic.twitter.com/qtzyKZwQkJ — Mike Mulholland (@mulho2mj) April 3, 2017 Much like how the Red Wings paid tribute to Mike Ilitch after he passed, the Detroit Tigers will also honor Mr. I when the season kicks off. Photographer Mike Mulholland tweeted a photo of “Mr…
Even Bill Schuette disagrees with Trump’s Great Lakes cuts
Well, now we finally know just how far Donald Trump has to go to get people who once endorsed him to disagree. It wasn’t outright sexism, or a Muslim ban, or even outrageous tweeting to get Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to disagree with Trump. No, it was our Great Lakes and Trump’s plan to…
Former Detroit Lion is raising money to test rape kits
Former Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy has teamed up with Detroit Hustles Harder to raise money to test the city’s forgotten rape kits. Proceeds will benefit Enough SAID (Enough Sexual Assault in Detroit), with Levy matching all fundraising up to $25,000. This campaign follows a previous campaign launched in the autumn. This time, the shirts are white, with…
ICP releases another surprise video cover: Rae Sremmurd’s ‘No Type’
In the run-up to September’s Juggalo March on Washington, Insane Clown Posse has been pulling out the stops with surprise music videos for some of the duo’s covers. Last month, it was a cover of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful,” rendered as “Indestructible.” This April Fool’s Day, the Psychopathic Records artists released another unannounced video for a…
Check out Jimbo Easter’s weird and amazing new Bon Bon Bon mural
Bon Bon Bon’s Detroit store in the Dime Building is now perhaps downtown’s weirdest corner with the recent completion of a new mural by visual/performance artist and wild man Jimbo Easter. The family of 17 freaks and mutants now residing on its wall are unmistakably Easter folk, and here we find his deranged bunch hanging…
Big Sean’s show at the Fox proved he’s Detroit’s ambassador to rap
Sean Anderson, better known as rapper Big Sean, had a big day yesterday. In the morning, Mayor Mike Duggan gave the rapper the key to the city. The only other Detroit musicians to be honored that way have been Stevie Wonder and Motown mastermind Berry Gordy. Then, last night, Anderson blew the roof off the Fox Theatre with…
Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas announce album release date and new cover art
Finally, the day has come! After months of anticipation from Detroit’s Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas over when their sophomore album would be arriving, the wait is just about over. Jessica Hernandez and her faithful Deltas’ new album, Telephone/Teléfono, will arrive June 23 via Dead Owl Music / Instant Records. When we caught up with Hernandez…
Check out the menu for the Brass Rail Pizza Bar, downtown’s new pie maker
Grand Circus Park’s R.U.B. BBQ is a thing of the past as the restaurant closed this week and will re-launch next week as Brass Rail Pizza Bar. Eater reports R.U.B.’s owner, Dominic Yono, is also behind Brass Rail, and the change is motivated by an “underdeveloped downtown pizza market.” Indeed, there’s not much in the…
Christian and Jewish organizations come together to renovate historic synagogue in Detroit
Originally constructed as a home for the Temple Beth El’s congregation, the limestone monolith located at 8801 Woodward Avenue in Detroit has seen better days. It’s currently inhabited by a non-denominational Christian church called the Breakers Covenant Church International (BCCI), but the building needs a new roof, new bathrooms, and other updates that would modernize…
Michigan residents give Lansing vote of no confidence
Offering results that should surprise absolutely nobody, a study released this week shows that Michigan residents’ faith in state government has reached rock bottom. The study, entitled Fractured Trust, was released March 29 by the Center for Michigan, a nonprofit think tank best known as publishers of Bridge magazine. Key takeaways included: • The people do…
A dystopian Detroit stars in indie film ‘Black Petunia’
Twenty-year-old Spencer King is a film writer and director who has been continuously exploring a love for the city of Detroit after his recent move here from California. His first film with a Detroit setting is called Black Petunia, and will premiere at the Florida Sarasota Film Festival on Wednesday, April 5 with a future Detroit…
Danny Brown is now a pizza chef
El Club chef Matt Ziolkowski, aka Pepe Z, is known for his inventive pizzas. Just to spice things up, he’ll frequently collaborate with local artists for limited run pies. For the month of April, he teamed up with rapper Danny Brown to benefit InsideOut Detroit, a literary non-profit for children that Brown has worked with in the past.…
Christian-Muslim group stands up for immigrants with march this Sunday
Scapegoating is one of the oldest political tricks in the book. When a government isn’t delivering on what should be its main priority, which is ensuring the health, happiness, and prosperity of its people, some politicians are quick to say it isn’t their fault: It’s all of those people who are to blame! Luckily, there…
Congresswoman and black feminist queen Maxine Waters to appear at Wright Museum this evening
California state representative Maxine Waters is a hero to many. The liberal congresswoman is the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and an advocate for intersectional feminist ideals, among other things. She’s not here to play and she takes shit from no one, most especially conservative talking head Bill O’Reilly. Earlier this week O’Reilly…
This Royal Oak teacher gave a fake spelling test to his students for April Fools’ Day and it’s hilarious
Can someone give this guy a “Teacher of the Year Award” please? Michigan teacher “Joey Dee” posted a video on his Facebook page yesterday of himself giving the correct answers to what seems to be an impossibly hard spelling bee test. The result is an insanely popular video that has been shared over 130K times…
89X pulls plug on American operations
Canadian-based alt rock station 89X (CIMX-FM, “the only New Rock Alternative”) abruptly closed its American office and cut staff on Thursday, including Cal Cagno of its “Cal and Co.,” morning show. “Cal and Co.,” aired its last show on Thursday. Cagno announced his departure from the station via Twitter that afternoon. I no longer work at 89X.…
Detroit’s Fisher Building will host a halfpipe next week
An architectural monolith and beacon of Art Deco design, the Fisher Building, will play host to a stunning skateboard ramp this week. The Fisher Halfpipe, as it’s being called, was curated by Everard Findlay as a means to explore the way skateboarding transcends race, class, and culture to draw disparate groups into a community. The…
First Look: Here’s what’s on the menu at the soon-to-be revived Caucus Club
One of the first things people ask restaurateur George Sboukis about the Caucus Club, the once-venerable Penobscot Building restaurant that he’s reviving, is whether the new version will feel like the old establishment, which shuttered in 2012. In its heyday, the Caucus Club became an iconic Detroit brand – your classic, fancy auto exec expense account…
These eight Michigan communities are flying flags for the Transgender Day of Visibility
At least eight communities across Michigan are flying the transgender pride flag on March 31 for the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Participating communities include Ypsilanti, Lansing, East Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Ferndale, Ingham and Washtenaw counties, and the Ypsilanti Community School District. The effort was coordinated by Equality Michigan. According to the group, Ypsilanti Mayor Amanda Edmonds was the…
This video of goats going wild with WDIV’s Paula Tutman is amazing
We’re not exactly sure why WDIV reporter Paula Tutman was hanging out with a bunch of goats on a farm, but after watching this video we sure are happy she did. Turns out, Tutman was doing a report on how goats will be fighting an invasive plant by eating the plants on the Poly Ann…
United We Brunch comes to Detroit’s Garden Theater this Saturday
Shleppers of the 9-to-5 look forward to no meal more than that of brunch. This weekend-only meal is generally served after breakfast but before lunch, and plied with gallons of Bloody Mary mix and vodka. Luckily there are myriad places around town that offer a killer brunch menu, and the marketing folks at Metro Times…
Betsy’s at it again, comparing schools to ride-sharing apps
Heavens to Betsy. Billionaire and current Secretary of Education Betsy Devos is once again making outlandish statements that prove she’s as qualified to run public education as a tomato. In a speech made to the Brookings Institute, DeVos said the following: Let me offer this example from a different part of our daily lives. How…
Avalon will open its new downtown pizza cafe, grab-and-go store in April
A new Avalon location, the Avalon Cafe and Bakery, will open near Campus Martius in April. The company announced plans for the casual restaurant and store yesterday, which it says will offer made-from-scratch sandwiches, breads, pizzas, baked goods, Mighty Good Coffee, beer, and wine. The Cafe and Bakery concept will be Avalon’s fifth location. The…
Trump calls for immediate cut to Great Lakes funding for Mexican border wall
Remember how President Donald Trump proposed to cut EPA funding that goes toward Great Lakes pollution cleanup by 97 percent as part of his proposed 2018 budget? Cuts to that program could be coming even sooner. To make a down payment for his Mexican border wall, Trump is calling for $18 billion in immediate budget…
Inside the new-ish coffee shop caffeinating Detroit’s Dexter-Davison neighborhood
When people move to Detroit in 2017 to open a business and be a part of the city’s turnaround, there’s specific territory that they typically target – Downtown, Midtown, Corktown, Eastern Market, or maybe even Livernois north of McNichols. But when Eleos Coffee Detroit managers Jacob and Nicole Cumberford, and Sean and Joni Adams, arrived here to…
This is how much money telecom companies paid Michigan Republicans to sell your browser history
You know, we don’t really blame you for possibly missing the news that Congress has overturned Obama-era internet privacy safeguards, paving the way for our internet histories to be bought and sold by huge telecom companies. So pretty much, you can say RIP to any privacy that you once had on the internet and hello to…
WSU’s new food pantry has you covered if you need a bite to eat
Wayne State only has a few nearby places for students to get groceries, with Little Asia Mart, Whole Foods and University Food Center being the closest. Unfortunately for students living on campus, though, nutritious groceries can’t always make the budget. “The W,” a food pantry set to open April 2 on campus, is looking to…
It was 30 years ago today: WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome
Thirty years ago today, Roddy Piper, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Jake the Snake Roberts, the Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, among others, took over the Pontiac Silverdome in front of 93,173* rabid pro wrestling fans. The series of classic bouts, right at the zenith of “Hulkmania” would eventually be released as WrestleMania III.…
Detroit rap label alleged to be a massive heroin front
Detroit-based BMB Records is at the center of a years-long federal drug probe, in which the rap label is alleged to be a front for one of the Midwest’s largest heroin rings. The label — which has signed Ray J (of Kim Kardashian sex tape fame), Empire’s Bre-Z, and previous Metro Times cover girl Kash Doll —…
A Harry Potter ‘Pottercon’ is coming to Detroit
Are you a Muggle still patiently waiting for a Hogwarts letter to come in the mail via owl? Well pack your trunk, my dear friend, because Pottercon is coming to the Masonic Temple on Sunday, May 21 and we cannot control our excitement. This event is seriously a Harry Potter nerds dream come…
Here’s the perfect analogy for Trump claiming responsibility for auto jobs
On Tuesday, Ford announced a $1.2 billion investment Michigan, which would see the modernization of some of its plants and the creation of a new data center. As usual, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to apparently take credit for the move — even though the investments can be traced back to 2015 negotiations between Ford and the…
Horoscopes (Mar 29- April 4)
ARIES (March 21- April 20): You can’t afford to let this get to you. It’s hard to say how you’re going to play it because your skin is so thin and you’ve had it up to here with people and their B.S. That being said: Did it ever occur to you that you’d do a…
The Craig Brown Band takes a crack at Detroit country
Craig Brown, easily one of the city’s best guitarists and something of an entity unto himself, has emerged from the fast and weird sonic realm with a new band in a style that’s not actually new to him, but now exists in its most polished form yet: country rock. Brown is Detroit’s latent cowboy, and…
Amid investment boom, Detroit lets operators of unsafe buildings stay in business
Daniel Lecours had just sat down for dinner in his Midtown apartment the evening of March 15 when he heard the screams outside his door. “Fire! Fire!” his neighbors at the Sheridan Court Apartments were shouting. The 27-year-old swung open his door to find the building’s fourth-floor hallway filling with smoke and a line of…
Interactive art and history exhibition comes to Hamtramck
Starting on Friday, Hamtramck’s Bank Suey will host The Wall Speaks – Voices of the Unheard, a travelling exhibition that aims to bring humanity to the statistic of Polish lives lost during World War II. We caught up exhibition creator Wojtek Sawa and learned how the exhibition is about more than just the Polish genocide,…
Politics & Prejudices: Trump’s war on Michigan
Donald Trump has essentially declared war on Michigan. That’s what any fair and balanced citizen would conclude, based on the truly horrible “skinny budget” he sent to Congress. Any sane person analyzing it would never guess that Michigan narrowly voted for Trump last year, helping to give him his astonishing victory. What this budget would…
Great Lakes Myth Society’s Timothy Monger lights the way with long-awaited solo effort
Timothy Monger, co-founder of the beloved Great Lakes Myth Society, recently released his third solo album, Amber Lantern. The album bubbles over with delicately orchestrated pop songs and “harmony-forward” vocals, with folk instrumentation center stage. Monger, 40, made a conscious effort to differentiate these songs from past work, writing the lyrics more personally, with the…
Savage Love: Positive thinking
Q: Gay guy here. Met a guy online. He came over. We had incredible sex and then a great conversation lasting several hours. But — and you knew there was one coming — he told me that he lied about his HIV status. (I asked him before meeting him, like I do with anyone.) He…
Review: Thuy Trang makes a formidable pho
(See 12 photos of Thuy Trang’s bowls of pho here.) The question over who serves the best pho in Detroit doesn’t ignite a passionate debate in quite the same way as the best coney dog, Detroit-style pizza, or shawarma might. That’s partly a result of demographics as Detroit’s Vietnamese population isn’t what it is in…
Stir It Up: Detroit institutions are helping the world’s most vulnerable
Things are getting tougher for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants seeking entry to the United States. President Donald Trump ran a campaign that focused on hatred and distrust of immigrants (documented or no), and followed that up with two executive orders aimed at barring Muslims from entering the country. He’s put a focus on criminal…
20 things to do in metro Detroit this week
Wednesday, 3/29 Bon Jovi @ Joe Louis Arena When you think Bon Jovi, you think big hair, leather, tight pants, and great radio music. What better way to say goodbye to Joe Louis Arena than to see Bon Jovi perform their greatest hits? The classic rock, chart-topping hair band garnered fans with hits like “Wanted”…
Why are there no black-owned grocery stores in Detroit?
The eastside strip mall in which Charles Walker opened his grocery store in 2004 seemed like an ideal location. Among its neighbors was a Department of Human Services office that passed out food stamps to residents in the low-income area. The freshly remodeled plaza, which sat on the southwest corner of a busy intersection at…
Detroit artists make a splash at SXSW
Detroit was well-represented in Austin, Texas last week at the South by Southwest festival, which now draws hundreds of thousands of attendees and performers from across the U.S. and from over 80 foreign countries. Competition to showcase at SXSW is fierce, and Detroit and Michigan-based artists managed to snag a good portion of the coveted official slots…
