Lots of restaurants and an interesting mix of retailers are looking to set up a shingle in metro Detroit.
According to a roundup presented at the International Council of Shopping Centers Michigan Idea Exchange last week, newcomers looking at the region and state include the bar and grill Bubba’s 33, Brickhouse Tavern + Tap, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, the Pittsburgh-based pizza and sandwich shop Primanti Bros. and the women’s boutique Versona.
Besides those chains, several retailers and restaurant operators already with a presence here look to add more locations in metro Detroit or Michigan. Among them:
- Golden Corral Corp. This buffet operator expects to open its seventh location in the state by the end of August in Taylor as part of 20 stores opening in Michigan this year. Cities where Golden Corral has locations: Southfield, Farmington, Kalamazoo, Holland, Portage and Saginaw.
- Nashville, Tenn.-based Kirkland’s Inc., a home decor, accessories and gifts chain, plans to open its third Michigan store in Shelby Township on Saturday and six more between now and the end of 2016.
- Little Caesars Pizza is “filling some holes” with an undisclosed number of new stores and the relocating of other stores in the Detroit area, said Michael Atwell, the company’s vice president of real estate.
- Panda Express said it has five stores under construction and five set for 2016, adding to sites in Detroit, Troy, Rochester Hills and Allen Park. “Based on the success we’re having right now, I will declare this will be the best market for Panda Express,” said Jim Tarpey, the company’s regional real estate manager.
- Hilliard, Ohio-based PetPeople plans to add six stores in the region this year, joining its first stores in Grosse Pointe, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills.
- Planet Fitness plans to add five locations this year in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
- Illinois-based Save-A-Lot Food Stores, one of the largest grocery chains in the country, expects to open 10 stores in Michigan this year.
Grocery is a hot segment, with Kroger Co. of Michigan’s conversion last month of five former Hiller’s Markets and the opening of three Fresh Thyme stores in Troy, Rochester and Northville. The Fresh Thyme chain is new to the market.
