New Dearborn Restaurant in Little Cafe Building
It has been more than two years since Pat and Anne Stagg closed the Little Café on Michigan Avenue.
Now the building has a new owner and burgers and hot dogs could soon be served up in the coming months.
Paper now covers windows facing traffic on Michigan Avenue as work is now underway inside freshening the place up.
It isn’t yet clear what the new business will be named or whether it will serve breakfast but with so few places in west Dearborn serving a good hot morning meal (not counting Bob Evans), it seems like it would be a missed opportunity to not do so.
We miss the Little Café and Pat’s unvarnished commentary about just about anything.
We look forward to the new business and wish the new owners the best of luck. It’s nice to see a “For Sale” sign removed from a vacant building on Michigan Avenue . . .
Separately, two other restaurants will soon open in west Dearborn. Delicioso’s restaurant owner is opening a Middle Eastern restaurant next door to his place (next door to the Thai restaurant) in the Norm Newman strip mall, just across the street from Sacred Heart Church at Michigan and Military. And down the road, just west of Telegraph, a new Thai food restaurant is opening in the former home of Harley’s Dearborn Deli.
January 31st, 2011 at 9:55 am
FYI:
Cedars Coney has an Excellent Breakfast menu! (Served all day as well!)
January 31st, 2011 at 9:57 am
It has been so frustrating to see West Dearborn in such disarray. So many buildings vacant. As you said, it is always good to see a for sale sign removed and something at least go into a previously empty building. One thing I have wondered for awhile though about West Dearborn is why we can’t get more creative with what goes into these vacancies. We have so many restaurants and bars. What about a unique book shop that has art for sale on the walls or unique gift shops or a music store that offers lessons. Down in Cincinnati there is a Borders where every Friday and Saturday night they have local bands setup in a corner and people can stop, walk by or whatever but it adds some excitement. Why can’t we do something like that in Dearborn. Storefronts like the old Inca and Pier One and many others have been vacant now for years. And it can’t be just the economy because many of these places were vacant long before the economy started going south. I have to wonder if some of the owners of these buildings have just asked for too much rent in the past. Wouldn’t you want to see something in your building and maybe make a little less money that just have it sit there for years rotting away. I must be missing something. Anyway, I love Dearborn and want to see it thriving and creative.
January 31st, 2011 at 11:11 am
I think that we all miss the Little Cafe’ and Ann and Pat! How about Cedars, Holiday Grille or Mercury for a nice piping hot breakfast. Good luck to whoever it is that moves in.
I guess we have to assume that the only businesses that want to move into Dearborn are restaurants or bars.
January 31st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
If you’re looking for a good and inexpensive breakfast, definitely check out the Holiday Grill.
Good luck to the new businesses.
January 31st, 2011 at 7:40 pm
My Shrink told me not to blog anymore, but what does he know. Good Luck.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:19 am
Hey Donna, you been to Ann Arbor lately?
It’s all bars and restaurant, and it’s thriving.
February 1st, 2011 at 7:10 am
Nice to at least hear from you Candyman!!!
February 1st, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Late in the evening about sundown high on the hill and above the town uncle pen play the fiddle on higherground you can hear it talk you can hear it roar!
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:49 am
Bob: I’m right there with ya. I tried that angle of discussion a few months back and boy did I stir up the pot. 🙁
February 2nd, 2011 at 9:14 am
Tim Publius, you are correct that we all know that many buildings in Dearborn have been sitting empty for way too long. Incas, as you mentioned was vacant during some of the most prosperous years. Is there nothing the city can do? Can’t we pass an ordinance that puts a limit on how many years a building can sit empty? Can people just buy commercial property and let it sit for decades, holding the city hostage? Heads at city hall should come together and solve this problem. I believe that is their job!
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:46 am
I too miss Pat, Ann and the wonderful food and conversation at Little Cafe. And yes, it’s a darn shame what has happened to downtown west Dearborn.
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:56 am
Here is hoping that the new owners will serve good food, and not talk politics so often, Pat was always bitching about the City — we personally felt sorry for her husband. The new owners can learn from the previous ones mistakes. Good Luck.
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
David, it was Ann you must have been listening to, as Pat was the husband. I don’t know what mistakes Ann and Pat made, as the food was always terrific, and Ann treated my elderly mother like a queen when I brought her there to eat, preparing a meal off the menu to suit her. I loved their coffee selection, the coney dogs, the soups, the hamburgers (!)…and the Dearborn sports room…nothing ever like it before… They said the paid parking really put a dent into their customer flow. Come to think of it, that must have been the reason for the complaints about the City you cited. Good luck to the new owners, but like all new businesses, it is an uphill road.
February 2nd, 2011 at 5:35 pm
David, you have them backwards Pat is the husband, Ann is the wife who was always bitching about the City, but for good reason, that was the topic of choice of the customers, they knew she was good buddies with Political People and had new information.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:55 am
No, the service at Little Cafe was not good, and we gave it a few visits, since we use local businesses, and assumed one bad experience was not the norm. Eventually we faded away. We were not personal friends, didn’t know the owners’ names or anything. Just customers.
Cedars Coney has excellent service, by the way. 🙂
February 6th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
I didn’t know the owners’ names at first, either, when I visited the Little Cafe. It was started by the owners of the Little Professor’s bookstore, remember, then bought by Pat and Ann. I never saw bad service, much less experienced it. Of course, one’s definition of ‘good service’ is one’s own…
My older daughter used to meet there with her friends from Edsel for study groups. As I said previously, when my elderly mother wanted a certain dish to eat, Ann had it prepared, even though it wasn’t on the menu for that day.
If Ann and Pat try again to run a restaurant, I will certainly go out of my way to give it a try. Good luck to them wherever they are, and again good luck to the new owners of that spot. With so many restaurants in the area, competition will be tough.
February 9th, 2011 at 9:22 am
I guess we will all find out how many Thai restaurants the area can support. The new one on Michigan is not far from the established one on Telegraph, which seems to do very good business. Certainly the times I have met family there the place is very crowded.
February 9th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
I agree, it’s nice to see new businesses move in where we have had vacancies for years. I think this is a major issue, and one I decided to try to do something about.
I began a project in November that I have since dubbed DEAReBORN (like Dearborn and Reborn) where my end goal is to get a business to move here that might otherwise not have done so.
It is a slow process and I am in the beginning stages of research but I would love to hear any comments or suggestions you have as I move forward. You can follow the progress on my blog: http://kristyn4council.wordpress.com/deareborn/
Hopefully it can help make a small impact on a huge problem. Thanks all!
February 10th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Kristyn – your project looks and sounds very interesting – what was the reaction from city hall??
February 13th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Donna – Thank you! I haven’t had any kind of “official” reaction because the project is still in its beginning stages. Although, all individual conversations I’ve had with people have been extremely positive and encouraging. Most of the ideas I’ve gotten about what businesses to look at and where to start have been suggestions from others.
I plan on reaching out to specific departments, like the Economic and Community Development, as well as the individual Downtown Development Authorities in the next few weeks to present my idea and get their insight on moving forward. As always, any suggestions or ideas from others is much appreciated!
February 14th, 2011 at 9:24 am
We (Dearborn) need a Trader Joes!!! Inca/Pier one location!!!!
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. It will not hurt Westborn Mkt. business!!! Both are across the street (Woodward) from each other in Royal Oak/Berkley, and still do brisk business. I go to Westborn for quality meats, veggies, & deli. I go to Trader Joes for the nice variety of pantry & frozen items (and cheap wine).
February 14th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Hopeful – You might be happy to know that Trader Joes is on my list of businesses to look at. This was added right at the beginning because I got such an incredible response about it. What’s more, is there was a huge effort about a year ago to convince Trader Joes to come to Dearborn so it would be great to build from there.
Also, I have added Inca/Pier One to the list. I think these are great ideas and definitely worth looking into. Thank you!
February 15th, 2011 at 10:44 am
First off, Trader Joes does not make business decisions based on the whim of a few obsessed foodies. T Joes is very deliberate on where they open up new locations, and their decisions are based on solid market demographics. Little is known about how T Joes chooses new locations because it is a privately owned foreign corporation known for corporate secrecy bordering on paranoia. That being said, based upon the five stores opened last year this much can be surmised. Trader Joes chooses store locations that are between 10,000 to 12,000 sq. Ft. Secondly the area must have a high concentration of gourmet food buyers, and offer vibrant affluent business districts. T Joes is not a full service grocery, it sells specialty items at value pricing at a high velocity. Thus the necessity for high concentrations of foodies.
Facebook is littered with “We need a Trader Joes” groups, and it’s headquarters in Monrovia, CA is deluged with petitions and city planner pleas for a store location. Based upon the fact that Dearborn has an extremely high rate of foreclosures, declining personal income levels, and a shuttered central business district, what makes you think this cautious detail oriented company would chose to move into an almost decades old abandoned wreck. Dearborn does not need idealistic social engineering memes like rebirth, corporate messiahs, or convention centers. What Dearborn needs is a sound business plan rooted in delivering excellent city services, and improving the quality of it’s public education system. Everything else is like trying to polish a turd. Dearborn does not need to be reborn, it needs to refocus. It is the fundamentals that build a strong foundation for economic and cultural growth. Sadly this mayor and other citizens would rather chase the fantasy of creating the next Royal Oak or Ann Arbor, they miss what makes Dearborn unique. Sonic, Fat Burger, T Joes, will not change anything if the civic fundamentals are weak. I chose to live in Dearborn because it offered top notch city services, recreation opportunities for my child and a quality public education for a reasonable tax cost. This stability is what brought hard working innovative people to this city for over a hundred years. Sadly the erosion of public value coupled with downward economic trends create the atmosphere for people to flee our city. Yes we can survive this economic tsunami but it will take sound public policy and an engaged citizenry. Clever rebranding strategies work well in selling razors, and beer not so well in providing workable solutions for a financially distressed municipality.