Today, many Americans have easy access to pre-prepared food—whether it be slabs of meat packaged at the grocery store or a ready-to-eat meal from a fast-food chain, acquired from just five minutes spent in a drive-through line—and the life cycle of each plant or animal behind the meal is often not thoroughly considered. With an outlook inspired from more than 20 years of working in the culinary industry, as well as experiencing fare and culinary preparatory practices from around the world, Karen Bell, owner and operator of Bavette La Boucherie, has a deep-rooted interest in where food comes from and how it gets to consumers’ plates—a passion that has shaped…
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Eclectic flavor
In Downtown Detroit, a city known for its community of designers, industrialists, creatives, and culinary artists, this adaptive reuse of a 1940s-designed Art Deco Streamline Moderne building near Woodward Avenue along Parker’s Alley is a thoughtful curation of the old and the new. Realized by a collaborative design, build, and creative team led by the award-winning firm of McIntosh Poris Associates Inc. in Birmingham, Michigan for clients Holly McClain and Shawn McClain, renowned restauranteurs and hospitality leaders, Olin Bar & Kitchen breathes rich, eclectic life and depth throughout its roughly 3,900-square-foot main level. It is a concept where buried architectural origin, and the seasonal, flavorful ingredients inherent to both Michigan…
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The Michael Jordan level
Widely known for his gravity-defying leaps on the basketball court that earned the nickname “Air Jordan,” Michael Jordan is a businessman and former NBA player, with a basketball career and baseball days a legacy among sports fans—one that has extended into products and dining establishments celebrating Jordan’s accomplishments. The six-time NBA champion opened his first restaurant in 1993 through a partnership with Cornerstone Restaurant Group, then went on to open a steak house in 1998 and has since extended his reach in the dining world to the national level. In Oak Brook, Illinois, Michael Jordan’s Steak House was designed by DMAC Architecture & Interiors—the eatery’s design similar to the basketball…
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Escape, blended
Tucked within an unassuming building near the corner of N. Kedzie Ave. And W. Diversey Ave. in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, there is a place that promises to delight imbibe and culinary enthusiasts alike the moment they step beyond the threshold and leave the city’s residential and commercial architecture interplay behind. Its façade, which features a splash of vibrant green on a brick canvas, courts the curious onlooker and hints at the oasis-meets-flotsam experience within its doors where wallpaper, lighting, and glass-blown globes in netting come to life in the windows at night. There is an experience, an escape, and perhaps a journey that waits within, where intentional…
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Barbershop lounge
“There is a lot of same-old-same-old in the world and differentiating yourself to really make sure you are answering questions for your guests or customers that aren’t even asked—that you have thought through it—design is everything about that,” said James Geier, founder and president of 555 International in Chicago. “Answer the questions before they are asked and when somebody walks in they know it is a good, rich environment that has been pulled together for the right reasons, not just all these miscellaneous ideas.” 555 International is an award-winning global interior design, development, and fabrication firm specializing in the commercial, retail, and hospitality industries. For more than three decades, the…
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Fine design
In November 2017, Prime + Proper, a luxurious steakhouse experience, opened in Detroit, and quickly garnered attention for its elaborate interior design and approach to fine dining. Less than two years later in June 2019, McIntosh Poris Associates, the firm behind Prime + Proper’s distinctive style and preserved historic details, received a pair of Restaurant Design Awards from the AIA’s Los Angeles chapter—the only Midwest-based firm to do so during the 2019 award program. The People’s Choice: Restaurant award and Citation: Restaurant award, were supported by a jury verdict that cites Prime + Proper’s “opulence and decadence” as winning factors in the restaurant’s downtown Detroit setting. For Michael Poris, founder…
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Orchestral light
For architectural lighting designer Gwen Grossman, LC, IALD, and IES, lighting is the design element that can finish an entire experience. Within any setting, it can shape and highlight details, create cohesion, and even alter mood. This, combined with the collaborative nature of designing with light, makes the process similar to theatrical production, which is foundational in Grossman’s background with time spent designing theatrical lighting. “What drives me is the collaboration and creating something with the architect and our team that provides a space—whether it’s for students or restaurants, or corporate interiors—with a total experience,” said Grossman, principal and founder of Gwen Grossman Lighting Design in Chicago, Illinois. Gwen Grossman…
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Hint of summer
The visual summer landscape of northern Michigan is often matched by its flavors. Crops like tomatoes, fresh greens, and Traverse City’s famed cherry varietals bloom in time for a vibrant tourist season and at Aerie Restaurant & Lounge, the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa’s acclaimed high-rise restaurant, its flavors will be captured in a Taste of Summer menu set to debut on May 27th and end on June 2, 2019. Bryan Petrick, head chef at Aerie Restaurant and Lounge, said the $35, three-course menu is a way to kick off the summer after an unpredictable winter—and its effects on Traverse City Restaurant Week—and a prequel for flavors to come during…
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A little slice of Italy in West Michigan
An Italian-inspired restaurant and deli has transported its patrons to southern Italy for more than three decades. Set among a number of small shops in the Holland-based Washington Square, which is a block known for its historical charm and buildings dating back to the early 1920s, Pereddies Restaurant and Deli has greeted its customers for decades with tempting aromas of baked bread and fresh ingredients as soon as they step through the threshold. The restaurant and deli features trellises and grapevines strung throughout the building, original artwork adorning the warm-hued walls, and rows of shelves offering a variety of meats, cheese, olives, and spices. Since 1983 the family-operated business has…
