Not a Guide

Detroit · 157 places

A short list of Detroit, kept short on purpose. No rankings, no itineraries, nothing sponsored. Set where you are below.The distances and the map follow you. This is not a guide.

Distances from

From Campus Martius, Downtown. Straight-line miles; the drive takes longer.

Showing 157 of 157

The East Side

Five places, east of Woodward.
001

Father Forgive Me

Little Village · — mi · 1265 Parkview St

The wine bar of The Shepherd, the Little Village church complex whose exhibition hall was converted by Brooklyn practice Peterson Rich Office. It occupies the former garage: natural wine in short, lamb-printed glasses, Negronis carbonated on tap, tinned fish and sandwiches. A glassed-in heated room serves in winter.

002

Two Birds

West Village · — mi · 8130 Kercheval Ave

A cocktail bar in a converted West Village house. The kitchen is given to pop-ups, Sandos Detroit on alternate Wednesdays; in summer an ice cream window opens at the back.

003

Warda

Little Village · — mi · 1286 McClellan Ave

Warda Bouguettaya's patisserie at The Shepherd's BridgeHouse, its space by local practice UNDECORATED. Algerian-French pastry, a baklava latte and a cardamom rose latte among the drinks; mornings have the full case.

004

Rose's

East Jefferson · — mi · 10551 E Jefferson Ave

The former Rose's Fine Food diner on East Jefferson, relaunched as a dinner restaurant by chef-owner Molly Mitchell. The relaunched menu is Polish-inspired and seasonal: a burger, a beet horseradish martini, a pickle martini.

005

Sister Pie

West Village · — mi · 8066 Kercheval Ave

Lisa Ludwinski's bakery on Kercheval, built on the Salted Maple Pie. The shop now runs an interlude schedule: counter service Friday and Saturday mornings until sellout, preorder boxes midweek, and its baking on the counter at Washed Up Coffee on weekdays.

Restaurants

Thirty-six places to sit down and eat.
006

Supino Pizzeria

Eastern Market · — mi · 2457 Russell St

New York-style pizza in Eastern Market, ordered at the counter from a chalkboard. The named pie is the Supino: roasted garlic, kalamata olives, ricotta, chili oil.

007

Leña

Brush Park · — mi · 2720 Brush St

Wood-fired Spanish cooking in Brush Park, the kitchen open to the room and the bar set along it. Octopus a la plancha, salt cod croquetas, jamón served over a bag of Better Made chips, a peach conserva for the bread.

008

San Morello

Downtown · — mi · 1400 Woodward Ave

Andrew Carmellini's Southern Italian restaurant in the Shinola Hotel, the food and beverage rooms by Gachot Studios. Sheep's milk ricotta with hot honey and garlic, lamb meatballs, wood-fired pizzas; at brunch, Baba Rhum French toast.

009

Selden Standard

Midtown · — mi · 3921 2nd Ave

Andy Hollyday's Midtown restaurant, built around a single wood fire; the chef's counter faces the flames. The cooking is seasonal: beef tartare, a Caesar, vegetables off the coals.

010

SheWolf

Midtown · — mi · 438 Selden St

Roman pasta in Midtown, the flour milled in-house and the pasta rolled at a counter in the dining room. Carbonara, amatriciana, a crab-saffron pasta, squid-ink rigatoni. The room is loud; the tasting menu, Cucina Curata, is composed per table.

011

Vecino

Midtown · — mi · 4100 3rd Ave

Modern Mexican in Midtown, built on masa: corn imported from Mexico and nixtamalized in the kitchen daily. Totopos and salsa, duck enchiladas, a whole snapper in verde and roja, tres leches.

012

Chartreuse

Midtown · — mi · 15 E Kirby St

The Freya team's farm-to-table room in the Park Shelton, beside the DIA. A twice-cooked egg salad; sourdough with lemon butter. Portions are composed, not large.

013

Freya

Milwaukee Jct. · — mi · 2929 E Grand Blvd

A tasting-menu room in Milwaukee Junction, by Doug Hewitt and Sandy Levine. Vinyl plays on the stereo. Midweek there is à la carte; otherwise five courses, chosen course by course, or a nine-course grand tasting.

014

Polish Village Cafe

Hamtramck · — mi · 2990 Yemans St, Hamtramck

Polish cooking in a Hamtramck basement, reached by a steep stair. Handmade pierogi, dill pickle soup, the Polish Plate, city chicken, strawberry pierogi when they are on.

015

Baobab Fare

New Center · — mi · 6568 Woodward Ave

Burundian cooking in New Center, by Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere. Mbuzi, slow-roasted goat; nyumbani, beef with plantains; mhogo on Wednesdays, ugali kuku on Tuesdays. Pili, the habanero sauce, is sold by the jar.

016

Barda

Core City · — mi · 4842 Grand River Ave

Argentinian live-fire cooking in Core City, by Javier Bardauil: a wood grill and an oven, no gas. The format is sharing: tartare, bone marrow, a steak finished under flaming tallow from the flambadou, Baked Alaska. The room is small.

017

Takoi

Corktown · — mi · 2520 Michigan Ave

Thai cooking in Corktown, begun as the Katoi food truck; the restaurant was torched by arson in 2017 and reopened within six months. Khanom krok, papaya salad, fried chicken, produce from the restaurant's own HiO Farm. Heat levels vary.

018

The Goblin

Mexicantown · — mi · 2547 Bagley St

Sushi on Bagley, by two friends from Seoul; the Detroit room of two, after a first in Clinton Township. Orders are taken at the register. Hand rolls, torched nigiri, crispy rice; the Penguin Tray is built for groups.

019

Taqueria El Rey

Mexicantown · — mi · 3400 Bagley St

Tacos and charcoal-grilled chicken, in the restaurant's third home after the 2022 fire destroyed the Vernor original. Al pastor with chipotle hot sauce; the grilled chicken, half or whole, with charro beans. Closed Wednesdays.

020

Dakota Inn Rathskeller

North Detroit · — mi · 17324 John R St

A German beer hall on John R, operating since 1933. The Kurz family ran it for 92 years; since 2025 it has been Paddy Lynch's, preservation-first: the schnitzel still fries in a 100-year-old cast-iron Dutch oven, murals and communal tables kept. Open Wednesdays to Saturdays: schnitzel, steins, piano sing-alongs.

021

Mabel Gray

Hazel Park · — mi · 23825 John R Rd, Hazel Park

James Rigato's restaurant in a former Hazel Park diner. The handwritten menu turns over every few weeks, tasting and à la carte, with a vegan tasting; the thirteen bar seats are held for walk-ins.

022

Amelia Street Pizza Co.

Hazel Park · — mi · 951 E 9 Mile Rd, Hazel Park

Sourdough thin-crust pizza in Hazel Park, begun as a Royal Oak pop-up named for the street it started on. Whole 18-inch pies only, cheese or pepperoni, no slices and no telephone orders; the crust is finished with a pecorino half-moon.

023

Blue Nile

Ferndale · — mi · 545 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale

Ethiopian cooking in Ferndale, dinner only. Platters arrive on injera with refills, meat or vegetarian, eaten communally. Atakilt wat; honey wine and spiced tea to drink.

024

Medusa Cucina Siciliana

Midtown · — mi · 644 Selden St

Anthony Lombardo's Sicilian restaurant on Selden. Its executive chef, sommelier and beverage director all came from SheWolf, Lombardo's other room. The interior is by Patrick Thompson Design.

025

Alpino

Corktown · — mi · 1426 Bagley St

An Alpine restaurant and wine bar on Bagley, in the room Lady of the House left behind. David Richter, ex-New York, cooks Central European mountain food.

026

Supergeil

Corktown · — mi · 2442 Michigan Ave

Kreuzberg on Michigan Avenue: döner, tinned fish and cocktails. David Landrum of Two James Spirits, with chef Brendan McCall.

027

Puma

Core City · — mi · 4725 16th St

Javier Bardauil's South American street-food room in a converted Core City car wash. A custom sound system and DJs; four nights a week.

028

Marrow in the Market

Eastern Market · — mi · 2442 Riopelle St

A butcher's brasserie built over a working meat plant in Eastern Market. Ping Ho's, of The Royce and Mink; the original West Village Marrow closed in 2026 and the operation consolidated here.

029

Bar Gabi

Hazel Park · — mi · 23839 John R Rd, Hazel Park

Modernised Romanian cooking on John R, doors from Mabel Gray. Chef-owners Gabriel and Gabriela Botezan came from Adelina and Bacco; the tonic is made in house.

030

HIROKI-SAN

Downtown · — mi · 1265 Washington Blvd

The Book Tower's omakase: twelve courses from the team behind Philadelphia's Hiroki, the fish cut and seasoned at the counter as the meal proceeds.

031

Ima

Corktown · — mi · 2100 Michigan Ave

Mike Ransom's izakaya and noodle bar on Michigan Avenue: ramen, udon, rice bowls and dumplings built around a robata grill. A heated atrium extends the room in winter.

032

Flowers of Vietnam

Southwest · — mi · 4440 W Vernor Hwy

George Azar's Vietnamese restaurant inside the Vernor Coney Island space: caramel chicken wings, shaky beef and whole fried fish, with a full cocktail programme. Four nights a week, Thursday to Sunday.

033

Mudgie's Deli & Wine Shop

Corktown · — mi · 1411 Brooklyn St

A scratch deli that is also a natural-wine shop: house-cured meats, the Barrett corned beef sandwich, and a deep low-intervention list by the bottle and glass. A garden patio behind, with a tiki bar in summer.

034

Grey Ghost

Brush Park · — mi · 47 Watson St

A meat-led room and cocktail bar in Brush Park, open since 2016: dry-aged strip, fried bologna and a burger. Olive oil cheesecake to finish.

035

Cadieux Cafe

East Side · — mi · 4300 Cadieux Rd

A Belgian social hall since 1933, and a Prohibition speakeasy before that: the only feather bowling lanes in North America, steamed mussels, a deep Belgian beer list and a 5,000 square foot biergarten.

036

Antidote

Jefferson-Chalmers · — mi · 14628 E Jefferson Ave

Nya Marshall's Spanish-inspired restaurant and wine bar in the former Norma G's space on East Jefferson: 76 seats in a teal velvet room, chef Kirby Rocha in the kitchen.

037

Oak & Reel

Milwaukee Jct. · — mi · 2921 E Grand Blvd

Italian seafood and house pasta on East Grand Boulevard, from Jared Gadbaw, formerly of Marea in New York. Two blocks from Freya.

038

Cuisine

New Center · — mi · 670 Lothrop St

Paul Grosz's contemporary French restaurant in a restored historic house on Lothrop, behind the Fisher Theatre. A New Center dining room, running for decades.

039

Yemen Cafe

Hamtramck · — mi · 8740 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck

Hamtramck's Yemeni anchor on Joseph Campau: fahsah, fassolia, foul and fattah with honey for breakfast, gallaba and deboned chicken after. Open 8am to 1am.

040

La Dolce Vita

Palmer Park · — mi · 17546 Woodward Ave

An old-world Italian room on Woodward at the Palmer Park edge, open since 1995: full bar, live piano, and a garden patio.

041

Loui's Pizza

Hazel Park · — mi · 23141 Dequindre Rd, Hazel Park

Detroit-style pizza in a Buddy's-lineage room on Dequindre: Chianti bottles on the walls, antipasto salad before the square pie. Unchanged for decades.

Bars and Wine

Twenty-five rooms. In five of them, the music is the point.
042

Bar Chenin

Downtown · — mi · 1509 Broadway St

A ten-seat wine bar in the Siren Hotel, the former Wurlitzer Building. No reservations. Nick Arone cooks as well as pours: mortadella sandwiches, gildas, pistachio ice cream; the porrón is passed.

043

Wet Picnic

Midtown · — mi · 3980 2nd Ave

Cocktails in the lower level of a Midtown Victorian, the former Castalia space, reopened by two veterans of Kiesling. The Stadt Garten beer and wine garden occupies the grounds above.

044

Kiesling

Milwaukee Jct. · — mi · 449 E Milwaukee Ave

A cocktail lounge in an 1890s Milwaukee Junction building, opened with help from Rob Wilson. The drinks menu is organized by ABV, from session strength up.

045

Honest John's

Midtown · — mi · 488 Selden St

A Cass Corridor bar and grill on Selden, open 7am to 2am, the bar operating from breakfast. Chicken and waffles; a jukebox.

046

Bronx Bar

Midtown · — mi · 4476 2nd Ave

A two-room dive on Second Avenue. There are no servers; orders are taken at the bar, beneath a Jean Harlow painting. A burger and dill ranch; a pool table and jukeboxes in the back room.

047

Time Will Tell

New Center · — mi · 6408 Woodward Ave

A slim cocktail lounge behind curtains on Woodward in New Center, from the Sugar House team. Pink banquettes, a 1950s jukebox, drinks only: Peace Frog, Cut the Chase, The Sargent.

048

Motor City Wine

Corktown · — mi · 1949 Michigan Ave

A bottle shop and bar on Michigan Avenue in Corktown. Bottles come off the retail shelves to be opened on the back patio. The patio hosts standing DJ residencies, Monday Is The New Monday among them; Wednesdays are live jazz. The house bottling is called Detroit Love.

049

Tigris

Mexicantown · — mi · 2545 Bagley St

A hi-fi listening bar on Bagley, one door from The Goblin. By day a café; at night vinyl is played in full, the evening's LPs listed by the bar.

050

Ladder 4

Core City · — mi · 3396 Vinewood St

A wine bar and kitchen in a converted Core City firehouse. John Yelinek's menu is short (the Gem salad, the sourdough, a roast dinner on Sundays) and the wine is natural.

051

Vesper Books and Wine

Core City · — mi · 5001 Grand River Ave

A bookshop and wine bar in a former Core City bank: some 900 cookbooks, the vault included. Biodynamic wines and tinned fish at the bar; Barda is a few doors down Grand River.

052

Outer Limits Lounge

Hamtramck · — mi · 5507 Caniff St, Hamtramck

A dive bar and live-music room in Hamtramck. Local garage and rock bills in a small, loud room; Monday is karaoke.

053

The Aladdin Sane

Downtown · — mi · 1265 Washington Blvd

A 37-seat lounge in the Book Tower basement: Japanese-inflected cocktails and whisky, served omakase-style, the bartender setting the progression.

054

SPKRBOX

Downtown · — mi · 200 Grand River Ave

A coffee shop by day and a techno bar by night on Grand River: vinyl DJs and a basement dancefloor, open daily until 2am.

055

Stadt Garten

Midtown · — mi · 3980 2nd Ave

The beer and wine garden on the grounds of the Midtown mansion that houses Wet Picnic: some fifty German, Austrian and Central European wines, a dozen German beers, a service window and a fire pit. Outdoors only, and seasonal.

056

Sakazuki

Downtown · — mi · 1265 Washington Blvd

A sake pub in the Book Tower: a small room with a standing bar and walls of vintage Japanese advertising, by Method Studios with Stokes Architecture. Sake, Japanese whisky and cocktails against katsu sando, tamago sando and hand rolls. Evenings only.

057

Sugar House

Corktown · — mi · 2130 Michigan Ave

The Detroit Optimist Society's original, opened by Dave Kwiatkowski in 2011: the bar that started the city's craft-cocktail era. A dark pre-Prohibition room, 101 classics built by hand, and a seasonal menu beside them.

058

The Royce

Downtown · — mi · 76 W Adams Ave

Ping Ho and Angela Rutherford's wine bar and bottle shop at Grand Circus Park: 500 wines weighted to small producers and low intervention, sold at retail to drink in, with small plates.

059

Two James Spirits Tasting Room

Corktown · — mi · 2445 Michigan Ave

The tasting room of Detroit's first licensed distillery since Prohibition: a circular bar inside the distillery itself, pouring only what is made on site. Catcher's Rye, Grass Widow bourbon, Old Cockney gin, Nain Rouge absinthe.

060

TV Lounge

North End · — mi · 2548 Grand River Ave

Detroit house and techno's living room since the 2000s: a low-slung lounge with a serious sound system and a large patio, the night moving from sunset on the patio to the dancefloor inside.

061

Baker's Keyboard Lounge

Avenue of Fashion · — mi · 20510 Livernois Ave

Detroit's jazz club since 1934: a 99-seat Streamline Moderne room with a piano-shaped bar in black-and-white porcelain. Ella, Miles, Coltrane and Tatum played here. Renovated in 2026, the piano bar preserved.

062

Shelby

Downtown · — mi · 607 Shelby St

A cocktail bar inside a restored 100-year-old bank vault under Coffee Down Under in the Financial District: terrazzo floors and the vault door intact after a two-year restoration. Reached by a blue door and a word with the barista. Inventive drinks and share plates.

063

The Oakland

Ferndale · — mi · 201 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale

Ferndale's cocktail institution on Nine Mile: a rare-whiskey and private-barrel programme behind a serious, low-lit room.

064

Schramm's Mead

Ferndale · — mi · 914 Livernois St, Ferndale

Ken Schramm's meadery tasting room on Livernois: melomels from the author of The Compleat Meadmaker. Hours are short, Friday and Saturday only.

065

Griot Music Lounge

Midtown · — mi · 66 E Forest Ave

A vinyl listening lounge on Forest, running since 2016: 2,500 records, the full J Dilla catalog among them, played through analog amplification to about 50 seats and a patio.

066

The Old Miami

Midtown · — mi · 3930 Cass Ave

A Vietnam veterans' dive on Cass, open since 1980. The argument is the backyard: grass, a koi pond, a bonfire and a porch stage.

Coffee and Bakeries

Coffee and bread. Mostly morning places.
067

Trinosophes

Eastern Market · — mi · 1464 Gratiot Ave

A café inside a former spice-processing warehouse in Eastern Market, run since 2011 as a nonprofit arts room, with a gallery, a performance space and a record label around it; People's Records is in the same building. Vegetarian menu Wednesday to Sunday, 10 to 3: cortado with cardamom syrup, a biscuit breakfast sandwich. No laptops on weekends.

068

Anthology

Eastern Market · — mi · 1948 Division St

A roastery-café in Eastern Market built around a Modbar, with no counter between barista and drinker. Roasts run light; everything baked in-house is gluten free, and the pastry case follows the market's fruit.

069

La Ventana

Eastern Market · — mi · 1492 Gratiot Ave

Window-service coffee on Gratiot, from Katherine and Juan Perez of Cafe Franco. Latin-leaning drinks: the DEM latte with demerara syrup, horchata latte, café de olla.

070

Cafe Sous Terre

Midtown · — mi · 445 W Forest Ave

A French café in the basement of a 19th-century mansion on Forest Avenue. Laptops are permitted until 5pm, when the room converts to a cocktail bar. The drinks include a crème brûlée latte with a torched sugar crust; jazz on Sundays.

071

Milwaukee Caffe

Milwaukee Jct. · — mi · 447 E Milwaukee Ave

A standing Italian coffee bar in Milwaukee Junction: no indoor seating, a counter, a few stools outside. Cardamom vanilla latte, flat white, matcha.

072

JP Makes and Bakes

New Center · — mi · 6529 Woodward Ave

Detroit's first Filipino bakery, in New Center. Ube runs through it: brownie, basque cheesecake, latte; pandesal and one savory Filipino special daily. Hours are short: Wednesday to Friday from 7.45, Saturday 9 to 3.

073

Kitab

Hamtramck · — mi · 2727 Holbrook St, Hamtramck

Coffee and a bookstore in Hamtramck, fully halal throughout. Sandwiches are named for Hamtramck streets, the Holbrook spicy with jalapeño and chipotle; the signature drink is a draft latte, brown sugar, oat milk, five spice.

074

Bev's Bagels

Core City · — mi · 4884 Grand River Ave

Sourdough bagels by Max Sussman in Core City, beside Barda. The Reuben is built on Wagyu pastrami; there is a furikake bagel with chili crisp schmear, and day-old bags by the register.

075

Secret Bakery

Ferndale · — mi · 821 Livernois St, Ferndale

A Ferndale bakery open two mornings a week, Wednesday and Saturday, 9 to 2. Sourdough, an olive fougasse, a savory danish; the menu is posted to social media and quantities are finite.

076

Forest Bakery

Oak Park · — mi · 8140 W Nine Mile Rd, Oak Park

A bakery in Oak Park run by bakers Jo Burke, Kyle Suczynski and Humna Tak, open Thursday to Saturday mornings. Croissants, a galette that changes weekly, a tahini chocolate chip cookie. Lines form; much sells out by midday.

077

Alba Coffee

Corktown · — mi · 2124 Michigan Ave

Astro Coffee's successor in its old Corktown room, opened by Astro alumnus David Valdez. The room carried over; the egg soufflé sandwich is an homage to Astro's, and the coffee poured is Anthology's.

078

Nuvrei MC

Core City · — mi · 4884 Grand River Ave

The Detroit outpost of Marius Pop's Portland bakery, in the former Cafe Prince space: matcha, coffee and a short pastry case of cardamom knots, canelés and lemon poppyseed scones. The full bakery follows downstairs.

079

La Gloria Bakery

Mexicantown · — mi · 3345 Bagley St

A family panadería on Bagley, one block from Taqueria El Rey: self-serve pan dulce on trays, tongs in hand, plus tamales and churros. The format is the experience.

080

New Palace Bakery

Hamtramck · — mi · 9833 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck

Family-owned since 1908 and Hamtramck's pączki headquarters: pączki year-round, chruściki, rye bread. Pączki Day here is a civic event.

081

Sepia Coffee Project

North End · — mi · 2831 E Grand Blvd

Martell Mason's roastery cafe on East Grand Boulevard: direct-trade beans roasted in house, the roasts named for historic Black Detroit neighborhoods.

082

Good Cakes and Bakes

Avenue of Fashion · — mi · 19363 Livernois Ave

The Livernois corridor's bakery: scratch, organic and vegan baking, lemon velvet cake and a peach cobbler cookie.

083

Dutch Girl Donuts

Palmer Woods · — mi · 19000 Woodward Ave

A Woodward donut shop open since 1947, reopened in 2024 by Paddy Lynch to the Timmer family recipes. A second counter on East Grand Boulevard opened in 2026, supplied from here.

084

Quix Chocolate

Ferndale · — mi · 221 W Troy St, Ferndale

A Belgian chocolatier on Troy Street: some 40 praline flavours made in store, and a beer and wine licence beside the case.

085

Srodek's Campau Quality Sausage Co.

Hamtramck · — mi · 9601 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck

Destination food retail on Joseph Campau since 1981: house kielbasa and smoked meats, and more than 30 kinds of pierogi.

086

Mongers' Provisions

Berkley · — mi · 3127 Twelve Mile Rd, Berkley

A specialist cheese, bean-to-bar chocolate and charcuterie shop on Twelve Mile, with its wine-and-cheese restaurant, The Rind, adjoining.

Shops and Design

Clothing and objects, chosen carefully.
087

eugenie

West Village · — mi · 1400 Van Dyke St

Rachel Comey, Jesse Kamm, Lauren Manoogian and St. Agni, in a West Village storefront: labels the Midwest rarely stocks, chosen for fabric and construction.

088

Coup D’état

Little Village · — mi · 9301 Kercheval Ave

Angela Wisniewski-Cobbina's shop in the Lantern Building, where she pulls pieces for clients herself. Eckhaus Latta, MM6, Collina Strada, alongside books, beauty and gifts.

089

ARCHIVE by eugenie

Core City · — mi · 4725 16th St

The flagship's past seasons, in a Core City space: Rachel Comey, Lauren Manoogian, 7115 by Szeki. Walk-ins Saturdays, 11 to 6; other days by appointment. Discounted pieces are final sale.

090

Bowerbird Home

Little Village · — mi · 1533 Cadillac Blvd

A home store upstairs at Cadillac Arts Centre, run by Erik Johnson and Grace Morency, a weaver. The stock leads with rugs (vintage Turkish, Moroccan, Afghan, 1920s Chinese Nichols), then restored furniture, pottery, glassware. Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 6.

091

Take Me Home

Little Village · — mi · 1533 Cadillac Blvd

The gallery of Jim Schatz and Peter Souza Jr. for their collaborative work in clay and wood, presented as a domestic interior at Cadillac Arts Centre: functional ceramics, one-off objects, lighting. Exhibitions rotate through the year. Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 6.

Vinyl, Books and Print

Records and print. Detroit’s other industry.
092

People’s Records

Eastern Market · — mi · 1464 Gratiot Ave

Detroit's deepest stock of soul, jazz and R&B 45s, in Eastern Market, with gospel alongside. New stock arrives from local artists rather than distributors; the rest is secondhand.

093

Paramita Sound

Downtown · — mi · 1517 Broadway St

A record shop with a wine bar, in its own storefront on Broadway. More than 1,200 records, roughly half of them Detroit techno and house, the rest soul, jazz and international pressings. Open Wednesday to Sunday.

094

Third Man Records

Midtown · — mi · 441 W Canfield St

Jack White's label shop and pressing plant on Canfield. Stock is Third Man's own catalogue only; the presses run behind glass, plant tours are on Fridays, and a recording booth is open to visitors.

095

Detroit Threads

Hamtramck · — mi · 10238 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck

Techno and house vinyl in Hamtramck since 1998. Two turntables for listening before buying, sealed classics from Detroit labels, used racks beyond; vintage clothing at the back.

096

Signal-Return

Little Village · — mi · 9301 Kercheval Ave

A working letterpress shop in the Lantern Building on Kercheval, Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 6. Posters are printed on Vandercook presses in the open workshop; workshops teach the process.

097

In Thicket Books

Little Village · — mi · 1533 Cadillac Blvd

Used books and records at Cadillac Arts Centre, the entrance on St. Paul. The listings are written like a dealer's notebook, condition notes and all.

098

John K. King

Downtown · — mi · 901 W Lafayette Blvd

A million used books across four floors of a former glove factory. There is no computer index; visitors navigate by a hand-drawn map issued at the door. The rare-book room, the only catalogued stock, sits in the adjacent building, by appointment.

099

Source Booksellers

Midtown · — mi · 4240 Cass Ave

A Midtown bookshop dealing exclusively in nonfiction: history, culture, health, books by and about women. Owner Janet Jones handsells local authors; Saturday mornings bring free Tai Chi and Qigong classes at 10.

100

27th Letter Books

Southwest · — mi · 3546 Michigan Ave

A Southwest Detroit bookshop with Ginkgo Records inside, Shelley Salant's counter for Michigan underground tapes and LPs (Tyvek, XV). A games shop fills the basement; the room hosts readings and shows.

101

Book Suey

Hamtramck · — mi · 10345 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck

A cooperatively owned bookstore inside Bank Suey, a 1920s bank turned community space on Joseph Campau: new and used books, graphic novels, zines, book clubs and poetry nights. The hours are short, evenings and weekend afternoons.

102

The Detroit Record Club

Royal Oak · — mi · 28834 Woodward Ave, Royal Oak

A curated record shop on Woodward: used vinyl, ultrasonically cleaned, plus new releases, music books and vintage hi-fi.

Vintage and Galleries

Galleries and vintage, from the east side to Vernor.
103

The Shepherd

Little Village · — mi · 1265 Parkview St

A former Romanesque church in Little Village: an exhibition hall converted by Peterson Rich Office, a sculpture garden of Charles McGee's work, a pocket skate park that Tony Hawk helped imagine, and the Black Art Library in a former confessional.

104

Pewabic Pottery

Jefferson-Chalmers · — mi · 10125 E Jefferson Ave

A working pottery founded in 1903, now a National Historic Landmark. Tiles and vessels are made on site; the museum is upstairs and the glaze library, a wall of colors, downstairs. The seconds sale runs members Saturday, public Sunday.

105

Library Street Collective

Downtown · — mi · 1274 Library St

A contemporary gallery downtown, entered through The Belt by way of Snarkitecture's portal. Full-scale exhibitions of Detroit and national artists, turning over through the year.

106

MOCAD

Midtown · — mi · 4454 Woodward Ave

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, reopened in 2026 after its first full renovation: a new roof, a window cut onto Woodward, air conditioning for the first time. The Mike Kelley Mobile Homestead, out back, runs an artist residency.

107

Wasserman Projects

Eastern Market · — mi · 3434 Russell St

A kunsthalle-format gallery in a 1917 fire-department repair building in Eastern Market. Shows run about three months and are built to museum scale; the program adds music and conversation around them. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 12 to 5.

108

BORO

Corktown · — mi · 1457 Bagley St

Designer vintage and consignment on Bagley in Corktown, the racks arranged by color. Vintage Bottega and its peers, for sale or two-day rental.

109

Matéria Gallery

Eastern Market · — mi · 1343 E Fisher Fwy

Simone DeSousa's gallery, renamed and moved to a Fisher Freeway space in Eastern Market in 2026: contemporary art with a design and editions programme, after 120 exhibitions under the old name. Open Saturdays and by appointment.

110

Louis Buhl & Co.

Downtown · — mi · 1260 Library St

A contemporary gallery and project space in The Belt, the alley Library Street Collective made: emerging and mid-career artists, with limited-edition prints and artist editions sold as retail.

111

N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art

Midtown · — mi · 52 E Forest Ave

George N'Namdi's gallery, founded in 1981 and now a complex of exhibition spaces on Forest.

112

David Klein Gallery

Ferndale · — mi · 678 Livernois St, Ferndale

A contemporary gallery with a national roster, long in Detroit and Birmingham, now on Livernois in Ferndale, on the same strip as Secret Bakery.

113

LiTO

Southwest · — mi · 4200 W Vernor Hwy Ste B

Yvonne Montero's vintage boutique behind El Central Bakery on Vernor, run like a gallery: every piece hand-selected and priced by condition, material and rarity. Genuine designer vintage beside local designers' work, and an upcycling label, Heaven in Motion, of her own.

114

Flamingo Vintage

Southwest · — mi · 5449 W Vernor Hwy

Nikki Neuzil's vintage store inside a renovated 100-year-old Art Deco department store on Vernor: clothing from the 1920s to the 1990s, organised by decade. Film productions shop it for period pieces. A mile and a half from LiTO, the two make a run.

115

Catalogue Detroit

Corktown · — mi · 1550 Trumbull Ave

The workwear specialist of Trumbull's vintage row: old shirts, denim and workwear, tightly curated, with vintage Ralph Lauren and sterling silver in the cases. Short hours, Friday to Sunday.

116

What Pipeline

Southwest · — mi · 3525 W Vernor Hwy

An artist-run contemporary gallery in a Vernor storefront, run by Daniel Sperry and Alivia Zivich since 2013, showing Pope.L alongside artists from Berlin, Chicago and Los Angeles, and exhibited at Paris Internationale.

117

Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum

Dexter-Linwood · — mi · 6559 Grand River Ave

Olayami Dabls' bead museum and sculpture garden on Grand River, nearly a city block: 18 outdoor installations and thousands of African beads for sale, the founder on site. Matéria Gallery is showing his work this autumn.

118

Hatch Art

Hamtramck · — mi · 3456 Evaline St, Hamtramck

A nonprofit gallery and studios in Hamtramck's former police station, where a jail cell is one of the exhibition spaces. Twenty years running.

Architecture

Twenty-three buildings. Mies is the local architect.
119

Lafayette Park

Lafayette Park · — mi · 1 Lafayette Plaisance

Mies van der Rohe, 1958–63. The largest collection of his buildings in the world, set in a landscaped park and still residential.

120

1300 Lafayette East

Lafayette Park · — mi · 1300 E Lafayette St

Gunnar Birkerts, 1964. A concrete tower beside the Mies buildings, giant numerals on the roof. Private residences; seen from the street.

121

Dodge Fountain, Hart Plaza

Downtown · — mi · Hart Plaza, Woodward Ave

Isamu Noguchi, 1978. A steel ring over black granite. Restored, running again since 2024.

122

One Woodward Avenue

Downtown · — mi · 1 Woodward Ave

Minoru Yamasaki, 1962. His first skyscraper, the rehearsal for the World Trade Center.

123

The Qube

Downtown · — mi · 611 Woodward Ave

Albert Kahn Associates, 1959. A white marble checkerboard on Woodward. Best read from Campus Martius.

124

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center

Downtown · — mi · 2 Woodward Ave

Harley, Ellington & Day, 1951–55. Two marble slabs, and the Spirit of Detroit out front.

125

McGregor Memorial Conference Center

Midtown · — mi · 495 Ferry Mall

Yamasaki, 1958. Travertine on a podium, a reflecting pool you can walk around.

126

DeRoy Auditorium

Midtown · — mi · 5203 Cass Ave

Yamasaki, 1964. An auditorium set in a sunken court, paired with McGregor on the Wayne State campus.

127

Grosse Pointe Public Library

Grosse Pointe Farms · — mi · 10 Kercheval Ave, Grosse Pointe Farms

Marcel Breuer, 1953. Gropius’s protégé and former partner. A working library, with a Calder mobile in the reading room.

128

Ford World Headquarters

Dearborn · — mi · 1 American Rd, Dearborn

SOM, Gordon Bunshaft, 1956. A glass slab in a park, Lever House's Michigan descendant. Ford vacated it in November 2025; demolition is expected in 2027.

Demolition expected 2027
129

GM Technical Center

Warren · — mi · 30001 Van Dyke Ave, Warren

Eero Saarinen, 1956. The dome and the water tower from Van Dyke Ave. The campus is closed.

130

Reynolds Metals Building

Southfield · — mi · 16200 Northland Dr, Southfield

Yamasaki, 1959. A glass box wrapped in a gold aluminum grille. Vacant; street view only.

131

IBM Building

Southfield · — mi · 18000 W Nine Mile Rd, Southfield

Gunnar Birkerts, late 1970s. A steel tower in a metallic skin, its windows sloping inward.

132

Cranbrook

Bloomfield Hills · — mi · 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills

Eliel Saarinen, 1925–42. A whole campus by one hand. The Saarinen House is the prize; tours May to Oct.

133

Law Library Addition

Ann Arbor · — mi · 625 S State St, Ann Arbor

Gunnar Birkerts, 1981. A law library buried underground, lit by a glass trench 56 ft deep.

134

Moore Building

Ann Arbor · — mi · 1100 Baits Dr, Ann Arbor

Eero Saarinen, 1964. A brick music school above a pond, the sober end of Saarinen.

135

Prentis Building

Midtown · — mi · 5201 Cass Ave

Designed as a pair with the DeRoy Auditorium and listed with it on the National Register in 2011: Yamasaki's upper floors hover on pillars over an open ground floor at Wayne State.

136

Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts Building

Midtown · — mi · 201 E Kirby St

Yamasaki, Leinweber and Associates, 1958: a glass-walled pavilion behind a perforated red-brick screen wall, the wall enclosing a garden courtyard. Now the College for Creative Studies' Yamasaki Building, two blocks from the DIA.

137

American Concrete Institute Building

Northwest Detroit · — mi · 22400 W Seven Mile Rd

Yamasaki, Leinweber and Associates, 1958: a showcase for the material itself on West Seven Mile, with a zigzag folded-plate roof and perforated side walls, lit from within at night. Yamasaki called the commission a turning point. Private offices; seen from the street.

138

Temple Beth El

Bloomfield Hills · — mi · 7400 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills

Yamasaki, 1973: a sanctuary modelled on the biblical Tent of Meeting, a tapering concrete frame clad in aluminium panels with windows at the vault's base, so the ceiling floats. It seats 1,800; an International Style school wing adjoins.

139

Congregation Shaarey Zedek

Southfield · — mi · 27375 Bell Rd, Southfield

Percival Goodman with Albert Kahn Associates, 1962: a diamond-plan sanctuary rising to a point over Northwestern Highway, its steep roof floated on a band of stained glass. The sanctuary expands from 1,200 to 3,500 seats; the ark is 40 feet of marble.

140

Eero Saarinen and Associates Office Building

Bloomfield Hills · — mi · W Long Lake Rd at Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills

The one-storey wood and buff-brick office Eero Saarinen built for his own practice in 1953, rehabilitated in 2005 after near-demolition. Roche, Pelli, Venturi and Birkerts all worked for the practice. Private offices; seen from Long Lake Road.

141

University Reformed Church

Ann Arbor · — mi · 1001 E Huron St, Ann Arbor

Birkerts, 1963-64: a Brutalist church on East Huron, counted by the Bentley Historical Library among his ten Michigan landmarks.

Worth the Drive

Twelve drives that earn the miles.
142

Street Corner Music

Oak Park · — mi · 26020 Greenfield Rd, Oak Park

Records in Oak Park since 1993: deep soul and jazz stock, LPs and 45s.

143

Book Beat

Oak Park · — mi · 26010 Greenfield Rd, Oak Park

Art and photography books, floor to ceiling, since 1982. Next door to Street Corner Music.

144

Le Shoppe Modern

Keego Harbor · — mi · 3325 Orchard Lake Rd, Keego Harbor

25,000 square feet of mid-century furniture. A museum you can buy from.

145

Today Clothing

Ann Arbor · — mi · 215 S 4th Ave, Ann Arbor

The Ann Arbor benchmark. Auralee, Our Legacy, Kapital, Needles.

146

Literati Bookstore

Ann Arbor · — mi · 124 E Washington St, Ann Arbor

Three floors of new books. A public typewriter in the basement.

147

Dawn Treader

Ann Arbor · — mi · 514 E Liberty St, Ann Arbor

70,000 used and rare books, five minutes from Literati.

148

Encore Records

Ann Arbor · — mi · 208 N 4th Ave, Ann Arbor

Fifty years of used records, now in Kerrytown.

149

Paragon Sight & Sound

Ann Arbor · — mi · 3780 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor

The region’s listening rooms. Wilson, McIntosh, dCS.

150

Alden B. Dow Home and Studio

Midland · — mi · 315 Post St, Midland

Dow's combined house and studio, built in sections from 1934 to 1941 and set into a pond: 20,000 square feet of his own Unit Blocks. A National Historic Landmark, toured by reservation. Midland holds more than 400 mid-century buildings, many of them his.

151

Noble Village

Clawson · — mi · 45 E 14 Mile Rd, Clawson

Noble Fish, a sushi counter in Clawson trading since the 1980s, is the reason to come; under the same ownership it has grown a small complex around itself: a market, a patisserie (White Wolf) and a ramen bar announced. Order at the counter.

152

Isla Detroit

Sterling Heights · — mi · 2496 Metro Pkwy, Sterling Heights

Metro Detroit's Filipino reference point: JP Garcia and Jacqueline Diño-Garcia's Iloilo cooking in Sterling Heights. Adobo, pancit palabok, lechon kawali, ube desserts.

153

Woodward Camera

Birmingham · — mi · 33501 Woodward Ave, Birmingham

An independent camera store and film lab in Birmingham, open since 1969: developing and scanning, used gear, classes. The last full-service film lab in the metro with a retail floor.

Rituals

Film, steam and techno. Four rooms where the ritual is the point.
154

Detroit Film Theatre

Midtown · — mi · 5200 Woodward Ave

The DIA's repertory cinema, running since 1974 in its own theatre inside the museum: classics, restorations and director series, programmed months ahead.

155

Redford Theatre

Old Redford · — mi · 17360 Lahser Rd

A 1928 movie palace run by volunteers of the Motor City Theatre Organ Society: 35mm screenings of classic Hollywood and silents, the original Barton organ played before them.

156

The Schvitz

North End · — mi · 8295 Oakland Ave

Detroit's last historic bathhouse, from 1930: steam rooms, a cold plunge and a dining room, with men-only, women-only and co-ed hours across the week. Paddy Lynch's, of the Dakota Inn.

157

Submerge / Exhibit 3000

North End · — mi · 3000 E Grand Blvd

Underground Resistance's headquarters on East Grand Boulevard: Somewhere in Detroit, an electronic-only record shop, and Exhibit 3000, a techno museum, in the same building. Tours and the museum run by appointment.