Coming Soon: Two New Establishments on Broadway

[OriginalG313]

I’m sorry if this has been posted. I searched and didn’t see a thread.
I noticed the signs a few weeks ago.

Where Bert’s on Broadway used to be, there's a sign in the window stating Rob Parker’s Play by Play Sports Bar is opening soon.
On the corner of Broadway and Gratiot, there’s a sign in the window stating Good Ole Café coming soon.

[bartock]

Rob Parker is so contrarian I'll be tempted to go just so I can criticize it.

[DetroitSTAR]

I'm betting Rob Parker's will be overrated...just like him.

but yay for new eateries, i guess.

[qdaddy77]

c'moooooonnnnn...

I wonder if he will hire Mark Wilson as a greeter....

[Danny]

YAY new cafe scapes! Just like Ferndale, Royal Oak and Birmingham.

[EastSider]

Hopefully Bert's closure will make Broadway safer during the summer.

[Detroitej72]

c'moooooonnnnn...

I wonder if he will hire Mark Wilson as a greeter....

No, as you enter, Rob himself will be there screaming "goooood evennnnning Deetrooooooit"!

Maybe the can streamline a new Parker and The Man live from there.

[stasu1213]

YAY new cafe scapes! Just like Ferndale, Royal Oak and Birmingham.

Will this cafe serve coffee and lattes? Is it a coffee house? There are cafes around the city that are not really cafes.

[casscorridor]

Will this cafe serve coffee and lattes? Is it a coffee house? There are cafes around the city that are not really cafes.

I assume they will serve coffee, like most places that serve food. I talked to the owner and he said it will be sandwiches, soups and salads. We really need a place like that in the Broadway / Paradise Valley area as there aren't enough lunch places. There are already two coffee shops -- 1515 Broadway and Espresso Jazzy Cafe on E Grand River. Anyway, It looks like a big place, and it has two floors, so hopefully there will be room to chill out with free wifi if that is what you are looking for... which is the "cafe" environment [[not necessarily coffee).

That area is really coming of age though. It's one of the only areas in the entire city, much less Downtown, with a strong retail scene. Trendy shops have opened up [[mostly along East Grand River) in recent years, along with new restaurants [[such as Detroit Fish Market, Small Plates and Al's Paradise Cafe), the Opera House renovation, the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center, the Hilton Garden Inn and the Harmonie Park renovations and re-branding as Paradise Valley. A cigar bar also recently just opened on Harmonie Park, called Havana Lounge, along with Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes on John R. So clearly there has been a lot of development recently, and it's one of the most vibrant places Downtown.

What the area needs really bad is to get rid of the surface parking lots and possibly consolidate the parking into a new garage [[the Opera House garage fills up on Opera nights and game days) and re-establish a continuous street wall of shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries. It has a similar feel to Greektown with the narrow streets and late 1800's buildings, but I think has more potential because there is more room to expand, many more blocks. But gaping holes between buildings is not attractive, and I think thats whats keeping the area from becoming the next Greektown.