Seva in Detroit

[buildingsofdetroit]

Anyone heard any news on Seva's Detroit location. It was announced with surprisingly little fanfare a few months ago.

[emuaaron]

Anyone heard any news on Seva's Detroit location. It was announced with surprisingly little fanfare a few months ago.

Seva as in the vegetarian restaurant? i haven't heard a thing about this. if so, awesome news!

[Detroitnerd]

Yeah, I hope this Ann Arbor transplant goes better than the Mercurial Coffee Bar.

[gravitymachine]

i'm skeptical, though i'm hoping to be proven wrong...

[mbr]

what's your source for the announcement? I heard nothing.

[buildingsofdetroit]

It was mentioned in passing about a development in Midtown. I want to say it was on ModelD. I'm wondering if it has something to do with that construction just south of Alexandrine on Woodward. Certainly I'm not the only person who read about this, am I?

[Atwater]

that would be great news, if it's true..

[casscorridor]

This would add to many vegetarian and vegan options in Detroit, at least in the greater downtown area at least. Also, this would be on the higher end scale. I think there is definatly a large and growing market of vegetarians both in Detroit and in general.

[SaintMe]

Fucking. Awesome.

[mbr]

Not in Model D, or at least it doesn't show up on any search. Can't find any mention of it on the internet. This might have been a wishful dream. I'd love to have a Seva or Seva-like restaurant downtown too, or at least someone to try another shot at the Karmic Cafe concept.

[g-dub]

I was a cook at Seva in college. I'm not a vegetarian, but most of their menu items were really good. Their tempeh fajitas and tempeh burgers were awesome. The place is a little pricey, but worth it.

[1KielsonDrive]

And their AWESOME butternut squash soup, which I've been eating since they opened and have turned dozens of people on to, is worth a trip to their place in itself. That doesn't even touch on all the other goodies they make. I would think it would be a great draw in Detroit, especially considering the minimal vegetarian/vegan options in the D. Gdub, if you cooked at Seva, I immediately have great respect for you. What years were you there? Are you still cooking professionally?

[HazenPingree]

Seva is to be part of the Zachary and Associates Suger Hill Arts District project. You will note the renovations the firm is doing on the abandoned apartment buildings on that block. Unfortunately two of their buildings burned before they could get to them, but they now plan to build new. The location selected because of its proximity to MOCAD, Nnamdi Gallery, and Utrect, they intend to open multiple art galleries, artist housing, regular apartments, retail, and the SEVA.

Go Zachary.

[mbr]

I'm still skeptical. I don't see a lot of activity happening on that block and I see little prospect of them completing any new construction buildings, which are presumably where Seva would go, in the near to distant future. If Seva was serious about a location here they could have their pick of dozens of locations and be ready to open within months.

[Cooper]

No mention of Seva, but here's more info on the Sugar Hill Arts District:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ha...l_179052_7.ppt

http://www.modeldmedia.com/developme...hill18209.aspx

[gravitymachine]

what's the view like up there on sugar hill?

[English]

I heard it straight from the manager's mouth last summer, up here in Ann Arbor. They were REALLY excited about it.

However, we've had a LOT happen since then [[financial industry and auto industry near-collapses). Not sure how that may have affected their finances.

[g-dub]

And their AWESOME butternut squash soup, which I've been eating since they opened and have turned dozens of people on to, is worth a trip to their place in itself. That doesn't even touch on all the other goodies they make. I would think it would be a great draw in Detroit, especially considering the minimal vegetarian/vegan options in the D. Gdub, if you cooked at Seva, I immediately have great respect for you. What years were you there? Are you still cooking professionally?

I was there for a year or so in I think '92-93. That place has been around for like 35 years now. I started cooking in high school and stuck with it as my college job, and continued to cook professionally on and off [[it's kind of a labor of love / backup gig). I cooked at Slows for a while after they opened, while working real estate in Corktown. Kind of ran the complete spectrum--from vegetarian to Meat with a capital M. Actually chef Brian at Slows and I were at U of M at the same time, both studied English, and both cooked at Maude's for a while back in the day, then went to Chicago at the same time, then moved to Detroit at the same time... but he went to culinary and I didn't. Cooking's great, but the hours suck. The nice thing is, after making the same stuff over and over, you usually remember the recipes and techniques for a long time afterward. Not sure if I rememer the butternut squash soup, though. Sorry!

[1KielsonDrive]

Gdub, I've been going to Seva pracically since the day they opened. Yep, I've been around that long and can still remember bits and pieces. By the early 90's, I was patronizing Seva less frequently, but still going. I was in and out quite a lot in the mid 90's, after moving back to A2 for a spell, before moving to SF, when the new owners took over and eliminated the health food, nutrition and supplements store in favor of a lounge. It ranks in our metropolitan area with Inn Seasons of Royal Oak, as an icon of vegetarion/vegan foods of the highest quality. Maude's was one of my stops in A2 for a few years along with the Whiffletree which burned a few years before you were at UoM. You likely know this: Maude's is where Paul Saginaw [[manager) and Ari Weinzwig [[dishwasher) and UoM student, met and formulated their plans for Zingerman's. It's Ann Arbor legend. Maudes was an A2 institution in it's days, also. Being an English Major, you can critique and grade my writing [[ I need it), but please email me the results. I don't need to suffer any additional humiliation on DY. Attached are a couple of photos for you to view.

[1KielsonDrive]

Dub, the second photo is of a rehabilitated and redeveloped former quarry, near Huron River Drive, Zeeb and Joy Roads in the northwest corner of A2, going out toward Dexter. I happened upon it by accident during the winter and was attracted to it because of the McMansions built around this extraordinarliy large, old, water filled, quarry. Though I'm not too keen on the homes, it's a pretty darn good example of creative and adaptive reuse. The reason I'm calling your attention to it is because I spoke to a long time acquaintance and real estate person from A2 a few weeks ago. She told me the former owners of Seva took their cash out from the sale of the restaurant and used it to buy and develop this site. Pretty interesting. That's the people you worked for.

[g-dub]

It was kind of a weird place, with the comedy club downstairs--I remember one night having a smoke outiside and talking with the guy from the show Perfect Strangers who was performing that night. Maude's was a beastly place to work. I would have like 15 saute pans going at once on their 30+ burners. You'd walk out of there at the end of the night feeling like your brain had gone through an exorcism, completely amazed at the resilience of the human body. But the satisfaction of having plated a good meal made it all worth it. One of the cool things about cooking is you work with a total myriad of backgrounds. The industry attracts some of the dregs, but you also find yourself busting ass alongside some truly brilliant people. I was lucky to work alongside many of them, and I remember the people more than the food. Anyway, food is life and life is beautiful. I hope Seva follows through in Detroit. It would be a major breakthrough in the culinary culture of the city [[next to Avalon, that is).

[g-dub]

Dub, the second photo is of a rehabilitated and redeveloped former quarry, near Huron River Drive, Zeeb and Joy Roads in the northwest corner of A2, going out toward Dexter. I happened upon it by accident during the winter and was attracted to it because of the McMansions built around this extraordinarliy large, old, water filled, quarry. Though I'm not too keen on the homes, it's a pretty darn good example of creative and adaptive reuse. The reason I'm calling your attention to it is because I spoke to a long time acquaintance and real estate person from A2 a few weeks ago. She told me the former owners of Seva took their cash out from the sale of the restaurant and used it to buy and develop this site. Pretty interesting. That's the people you worked for.

Yeah, the people who owned Seva at the time I didn't know very well. From what I understand the main owner [[I forget his name) was not a vegetarian, but more of an opportunistic businessman who saw, in the early 70s, a market for a vegetarian restaurant, and created Seva. I wouldn't be surprised if he opened a freakin Jimmy Johns there on his new parcel. The spirit of Seva is perpetuated by the employees, not the owners. And I would hope, if they open in Detroit, that the same thing would apply.

[g-dub]

Oh, and, K1, from a U of M English major perspective, your writing is perfectly fine. I'll state that for the record here on DYes. And I can say I'm truly happy for you that you got to experience the awesomeness that was the Seva menu [[and my cooking, perhaps?) in the early 90s. That doesn't count the egg rolls, though. They were horrendous no matter what I did.

[detroitind]

I had originally heard that SEVA was to be part of 3 gallerys that are moving into the space that is right behind Church's Chicken. They signed a lease agreement according to the initial artical a while ago. So that part of the project has the majority of the outside work complete and were finishing the interior build out.

The renovation of the structure behind is coming along nicely [[from an outside view). The one apartment building to the south that burned and was torn down was a shame. They had funding set aside for that work to start. The second building that burned [[next to the house and is still standing) was not part of the original plan and is not an attractive building by any means. The initial new building planned now that the other project building was demolished will not be on the original site but on John R where there are currently vacant lots.

There is a lot of money lined up for these projects. Another aspect is the rennovation of the Helen Newberry Hall. That was previously to be turned into Condos however is currently slated for apartments by a developer with financing. This is being held up due to the DMC wanting the property back for a surface parking lot. That will unfold and hopefully add vibrancy to that side of woodward.

[1KielsonDrive]

Gdub, you said some important things there: I remember the people......food is life..... the spirit of Seva, and ........I hope Seva follows through in Detroit. Working in the food service business did you, and the people you worked with, good, no matter what craziness prevailed at the time. Thanks.