Cover Story
Metro Detroit restaurants navigate pandemic perils with little government help
In early June, Michigan partially lifted the lockdown that was in place since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, and restaurants began to chart a path forward. At Birmingham’s Adachi, business boomed on an expanded patio while large parties dined inside, but the profits-over-precaution approach may have eventually ignited a COVID-19 outbreak among its servers.…
Michigan Senate approves bill to allow absentee ballots to be processed before Election Day
The Michigan Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots a day before the election. But Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the proposed legislation “does not go nearly far enough” to ensure that clerks have enough time to process what is expected to be millions of absentee…
Ann Arbor to consider decriminalizing psychoactive mushrooms, plants
Since the 1970s, Ann Arbor has been a national leader for progressive marijuana laws. Could psychedelic “magic mushrooms” be next? A resolution seeking to decriminalize entheogenic substances — like psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, mescaline-containing cacti, and iboga — is set for introduction on the Ann Arbor City Council agenda on Monday, Sept. 21. The measure is…
Why Michigan’s marijuana market is exploding
Though sales only started at the end of last year, Michigan’s new recreational marijuana market is on track to surpass $1 billion, a milestone achieved by California in 2017. Sloane Barbour, the chief revenue officer of cannabis industry recruitment agency FlowerHire, says that’s thanks to Michigan’s medical marijuana market, which voters approved in 2008. Michigan…
Reps. Tlaib and Dingell confronted by police before finding ‘unsafe conditions’ at Amazon warehouse in Romulus
U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell were in for a surprise when they visited an Amazon fulfillment center in Romulus to investigate complaints about unsafe work conditions amid the coronavirus. Although the company invited them and knew about their visit, the Democratic congresswomen said Amazon called the police on them shortly after they arrived…
Hurricane Sally to hit Michigan, Fox News mistakenly reports
Well, folks, it looks like we finally completed our 2020 Apocolypse bingo card, which had squares for a global pandemic, Taco Bell’s removal of the Mexican Pizza from its menu, Carole Baskins competing on Dancing with the Stars, a record-setting blaze in California caused by the announcement of an unborn child’s genitals, and, now, a hurricane in…
The Detroit Black Film Festival will offer virtual screenings of dozens of films highlighting the Black experience
There’s a new film festival in town and, needless to say, it’s going virtual. The inaugural Detroit Black Film Festival hosted by Trinity Films Entertainment Group and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History will take place Sep. 18 and 19 (Friday and Saturday) and invites ticketholders to screen dozens of independent films…
The Dime Store has reopened for dine-in and carryout in downtown Detroit
A beloved Detroit eatery is back in business. The Dime Store reopened for dine-in and carryout in downtown Detroit on Monday. The restaurant announced on Facebook that the reopening comes after extensive remodeling, including changes both cosmetic and for imporved safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve been busy these last few months making the place…
Joe Biden’s campaign releases new ads in Michigan targeting Black voters, considered key to his victory
Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s campaign is airing two new television and digital ads targeting Black voters in Michigan and other swing states. The 30-second ads feature Black men wearing masks and talking in a barber shop about their support for Biden, the importance of voting, and President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. A 60-second…
Bee-lieve it or not, Michigan bee populations are on the rise according to new data
In news that doesn’t sting, a recent study found that Michigan bee populations are up 50% since 2018. New data published by Spring Hill Nursery, which used research from the United States Department of Agriculture, ranked Michigan fourth in states with the highest bee colony growth. Michigan follows Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Maine, which came in…
New campaign calls for policy change to ensure Michigan’s hospitality industry won’t be left in the cold this winter
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association has launched a new campaign to draw public awareness to the thousands of local restaurants and hotels crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the policies that they say must be adopted so the hospitality industry has a chance at surviving the colder months ahead. The MRLA’s “Don’t Leave Michigan’s…
Passenger who refused to wear a mask forced Delta flight to return to gate at Detroit Metro Airport
A Delta Air Lines flight was delayed and forced to return to the gate at Metro Airport in Detroit on Saturday because a passenger refused to wear a mask. Delta Flight 201 was about to take off en route to Los Angeles at 8:15 p.m. when the passenger declined to don a mask. She was…
Detroit surf-punks Dear Darkness return with a gorilla on bass and a new 7-inch from Third Man Records
Stacey MacLeod thinks her bedroom punk outfit of seven years might be better off dead. “I’m the bleak bastard who says ‘I’ll be a famous dead woman.’ I’m partially joking, but times have changed since I started playing in bands in the ’90s,” she says. “Back then, there was the fantasy that the man from…
Whitmer says she wants Enbridge oil and gas pipeline ‘out of the water at the earliest possible moment’
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that the state has almost completed a review of the controversial Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in the Great Lakes and that both she and Attorney General Dana Nessel “want to get this pipeline out of the water at the earliest possible moment.” Whitmer made the remarks during a virtual…
New CDC report links COVID-19 cases with dining at restaurants
Thinking of going out to eat during this pandemic? According to a recent study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults over the age of 18 who tested positive for the coronavirus are “twice as likely” to have dined at a restaurant two weeks before reporting symptoms, CNN reports. The study used…
Local outlet excitedly reports California fires could produce stunning Michigan sunsets because what are we even doing
While California chokes on ash and smoke in their cruel Bladerunner 2049-like dystopia, we in the Mitten State might just be lucky enough to reap some Instagram-worthy benefits. According to The Detroit Free Press, weather forecasters have predicted that Michigan could experience “enhanced” sunsets as a result of the record-breaking and completely devastating wildfires raging…
Trump’s Michigan rally was a clusterfuck that still drew thousands of maskless supporters
Whoo boy, where do we begin with President Donald Trump’s campaign rally held in Freeland on Thursday, outside of Saginaw? The rally came just after veteran journalist Bob Woodward revealed in taped recordings that Trump was acutely aware of the deadly dangers of the coronavirus as early as February — but chose to downplay its…
Steel Bite Pro Review: Are Steel Bite Pro Ingredients Legit?
Steel Bite Pro is a leading dental health care supplement formulated by Thomas Spear that helps fight back against toxic bacteria and rid tooth decay naturally. Found exclusively at SteelBitePro.com, the Steel Bite Pro oral hygiene formula is packed with 23 plant-based ingredients that are sourced from the purest, highest quality plants, herbs, minerals and…
The Statler Bistro, a new restaurant and market, is coming to downtown Detroit’s City Club Apartments
Warren-based Joe Vicari Restaurant Group is making a move downtown with a new high-end restaurant and market. The Statler Bistro is expected to open in downtown Detroit’s City Club Apartments in January 2021, according to an announcement by the company on Thursday. Billed as “an American/French bistro and market,” the 175-seat Statler Bistro will open…
‘Metro Times came to my rescue’: Why writer Jim McFarlin supports our Press Club
Even though I now live hundreds of miles from my adopted Detroit hometown, I’m a devout supporter of the Metro Times Press Club. I mean, anytime an organization saves your life — professionally speaking, that is — the least you can do is try to return the favor. In my case, salvation was required after…
Joe Biden shops at Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion during campaign stop
Even running for president won’t stop Democratic nominee Joe Biden from shopping local — so what’s your excuse? The 77-year-old candidate stopped by Detroit’s historic Avenue of Fashion district to buy some shirts from Three Thirteen, a clothing store on Livernois Avenue. The shopping detour followed Biden’s outdoor appearance at a UAW headquarters in Warren,…
Gov. Whitmer announces tuition-free college for frontline workers in first-of-its-kind program
A new program announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will provide tuition-free community college for an estimated 625,000 of Michigan’s frontline workers. Inspired by the GI Bill, the “Futures for Frontliners” program is for adults without high school diplomas or college degrees who provided essential services during the height of the pandemic in Michigan, between April…
UM-Dearborn apologizes after it promoted a ‘Non-POC Cafe’ so white people could talk about their white feelings
It wouldn’t be 2020 if a college didn’t attempt to host a whites-only event intended to give white people a platform to discuss their feelings about being white — you know, without people of color around to make them feel uncomfortable. Well, according to a now-deleted event listing, the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Center for Social…
Biden slams Trump’s handling of coronavirus, economy at Michigan campaign stop
Wednesday’s big bombshell was the news that President Donald Trump admitted to veteran reporter Bob Woodward that he purposefully downplayed the risk of the coronavirus, despite knowing early on how deadly it was. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic,” Trump told Woodward in mid-March, according to CNN…
Detroit’s FitnessWorks gym closes after 24 years in the New Center area due to COVID-19, Henry Ford Health expansion
It just wasn’t working out for a beloved Detroit fitness club, which announced via Facebook that it will not be reopening, citing pandemic-related operational concerns and a change in direction from Henry Ford Health System. FitnessWorks, located at 6525 Second Ave. in the New Center area, made the announcement Wednesday. “Whether you have been a…
Omar S will close out a series of outdoor, social distance DJ nights at Detroit’s riverside Aretha
The pandemic may have upended your summer entertainment plans, and summer is just about over, but it’s not over yet. There’s still a chance to see live music on the Detroit River, just as God intended. Detroit electronic music producer Omar S will close out the season at the “Lake Lounge,” an outdoor series at…
Michigan Opera Theatre announces parking garage performance and appointment of innovative art director
We know what an aria is — an emotional solo vocal performance most commonly incorporated in a larger operatic work. But a car-ia? Well, that’s just one of the first offerings Michigan Opera Theatre’s newly appointed artistic director is bringing to the stage, er, parking garage next month. Yuval Sharon was announced as Michigan Opera…
Chewing Tobacco: The Best Tobacco Free Dip
Chewing tobacco used to be seen as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. The logic was that dip is safer, since it doesn’t require burning the tobacco and inhaling harmful chemicals into your lungs. Research has debunked that theory, and we now know that the curing and fermenting processes involved with making chewing tobacco can…
Like a hole through the heart, Detroit Institute of Bagels shutters, sells everything
RIP DIB. Detroit Institute of Bagels is closed and everything, including the restaurant’s Corktown building, down to the equipment upon which delicious boil-and-bake bagels were made, is up for grabs. In a text exchange with Deadline Detroit, DIB owner Ben Newman confirmed that he’s closing up shop on his bagel, sandwich, and coffee business of…
History might not repeat, but it rhymes
Part one of a two-part series. As much as I loathe Donald Trump as both a man and a politician, as much as I abhor his degradation of democratic institutions, as much as it’s simply felt right, I’ve (mostly) avoided the F-word. Using “fascist” casually robs it of import. Think of how Republicans have for…
Hulu’s ‘Woke’ and other new things to stream this week
Premieres Wednesday: Get Organized with The Home Edit – Get thee behind me, Marie Kondo! Decluttering experts Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are here to straighten up the living spaces of regular Joes and celebrities alike. But do I really want to know what Reese Witherspoon has in her crawlspace? (Netflix) The Social Dilemma –…
Local rock star Eddie Baranek reviews Trump’s first term
When The Prezidency dropped in 2016, like you, I was shocked. Who knew someone could be so stupid and have it all on record for us to listen to? It’s a fascinating album, and people will be talking about it forever. But is it any good? After listening to it for almost four years, I…
Savage Love: No choke
I’m a 29-year-old straight woman in Pennsylvania. My question is to do with choking and consent. I’ve had two experiences in the past six months or so where someone has tried to choke me without my consent. The first time this happened, I coughed immediately, but he tried multiple times during sex. I was caught so off-guard…
Free Will Astrology (Sept. 9-15)
ARIES: March 21 – April 19 “It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t,” observes author James S. Gordon. “Rather, it’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.” Lucky for you, Aries! Your willpower is even more potent than usual right now, and your willingness to change is growing…
