Tuesday Tidbits: New Downtown Detroit Restaurant

Despite all of the doom and gloom predictions and actualities for our proud City, the new businesses keep coming! This article doesn't mention whether there is free Wi-Fi, but if there is, I'm there!

Announcing: The Grand Opening of the Hudson Cafe!

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Uploaded by tellusdetroit on 2 Dec 2011

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - Friday, December 02, 2011 The Hudson Café officially opened its doors in Downtown Detroit at 1241 Woodward Avenue on Merchants Row with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The metropolitan style eatery offers breakfast and brunch selections among other features on the exciting menu of many items which can be ordered anytime during business hours, all inside a fresh, open, airy dining area decked in a warm relaxing decor and a welcoming ambiance.

For those in a rush for a business meeting or to catch a bus? Just step over to the Cafe Coffee Bar just inside the front doors and enjoy everything from specialty coffee to fresh baked goods... and simply take it to go. And if you can dine in and don't want a table. enjoy your latte' in the comfortable lounge area which features big, roomy chairs, a fireplace and big screen television. The Hudson Café is also available for corporate events, private parties, celebrations, or any other such affair requiring an updated venue Downtown.

The cafe's prime location is directly across the street from the site of the former historic Hudson's Department Store building, in the heart of the business district; thus the name Hudson's Cafe. Classically Trained French Chef Tom Teknos, along with his partners Stavros Adamopoulos & Maurice are delighted to show their concept of a brunch cafe while spotlighting the continuing revitalization of Downtown Detroit and Merchants Row.

Meter parking is available on Woodward directly across from the restaurant. There's also underground parking available on the South/East corner of Woodward & Grand River (Premier Garage). The Hudson Café plans to use the underground parking structure for valet in the very near future.

Open seven days a week, the restaurant's normal business hours are 8AM- 4PM, with extended hours on special days where events occur Downtown. Some examples are Lions & Tigers games, City Lofts Shopping Event, Parades, Festivals, etc. These events will feature additional items not normally found on our menu.

Needless to say, The Hudson Café is very excited to help make downtown an increasingly more interesting, unique destination. Co-Owner Maurice said, "We are committed to being a part of the very exciting revitalization of our downtown. Detroit's Merchants Row is becoming the strong hub for businesses and their employees and that's what we all want it to be. The Hudson Café is integral to its progress and prosperity."

For more information or reservations call: 313-237-1000

Shopping in Detroit Memories: Kern's and Crowley's

In this week's post about shopping in Detroit we're going back to a couple of the "old-school" department stores many of us remember.

In a previous post, I briefly mentioned probably everyone's favorite: Hudson's; of course I will dedicate an entire post to the JL Hudson Department Store. If you went downtown to Hudson's, then you certainly remember Kern's and Crowley's.

Kern's Department store was started back in 1883 as the Ernst Kern Dry Good Company. A fire in 1886 caused the store to be rebuilt on the corner of Randolph and Monroe streets, but as business grew, the store moved again in 1900 to its last location on Woodward and Gratiot. It continued to grow and develop into Detroit's third largest department store by the 1950s. At that time, the Kern Family, who owned a home in my neighborhood, the Boston-Edison Historic District, sold the store to a corporation in New York state which finally closed the doors on Kern's on December 23, 1959. The corporate headquarters of Compuware was built where Kern's was located; and the redesigned "Kern's Clock" stands guard at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot.

Besides the famous clock, what I remember most about Kern's is the escalator: it was completely made of wood, not metal. What do you remember?

Crowley's Department store lasted longer than Kern's; the last store, which was located in New Center One, closed in 1999. "Crowley's" was actually the Crowley-Milner Company, which began in 1909 when the Crowley Brothers of Detroit, Joseph, William, and Daniel, merged with the W.L. Milner store in Toledo Ohio. Although Milner was killed in an automobile accident in 1923 and his family sold his shares in the department store's chain, the Crowley family kept the official name. Throughout the decades, and in spite of the Great Depression and several top management changes, Crowley's continued to grow and expand throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It had stores in the enclosed malls around Detroit, as well as Lansing and Flint; as well as the flagship store in downtown Detroit, which finally closed in 1977.

Although Crowley's struggled to maintain its original upscale image, by 1995, three of its last stores were bought by the company that owns Value City, and the store were named "Crowley's Value City". The Crowley's name was eventually dropped; Value City off-price retail stores still exist. However, many of us prefer to remember the Crowley's of the 1950s and 1960s, which along with Hudson's had the most beautiful holiday displays and high-brow shopping experiences in town. Our mothers actually dressed in white gloves, high heels, and hats to go shopping!

Shameless Plug: Please read my husband's blog, The "D" Spot...

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The Michigan State Fair 2008--159 Years of Fun & Education

It's here! The 159th Annual Michigan State Fair, the oldest state fair in the nation, begins today and lasts until Labor Day. Every day of the Fair, there are many exciting events for everyone in the family!
 

As usual, exciting activities will take place in the Community Arts Building and on the outer Fairgrounds; there will be the real-time livestock exhibitions, and the rides!

Seniors' Day is August 25--FREE Gate Admission for Seniors

Hours and ticket information from the Michigan State Fair 2008 Website:

August 22nd through Labor Day, September 1st Gates Are Open Daily: 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Admission: $10.00 - Adults $ 5.00 - Children (ages 3-12) $ 5.00 - Seniors (age 62 &amp; older)
Admission is free for children age 2 &amp; under
Parking is $ 7.00 per vehicle
"Ride All Day" Wristbands are just $15 on weekdays (except Labor Day) and
$25 on weekends (including Labor Day)

There are special concerts this year featuring Michigan native Alice Cooper (Wednesday, August 27), "High School Musical" star Cordin Bleu (Monday, August 25), and Disney Channel Favorite and former "Cosby Kid" Raven Symone (Tuesday, August 26). Reserved seating is only $20 from Star Tickets Plus.

Make sure to visit and take a picture by the "World's Largest Stove", 

now permanently housed at the Michigan State Fair!

The first Michigan State Fair was held in Detroit in 1849, just twelve years after Michigan officially became a state. At the time, it was customary for the State Fair to be held in a different Michigan city every year. By 1905, Detroit became the permanent location of the Michigan State Fair; and the size of the Fairgrounds grew every year until it reached its present size of 164 acres by 1921. The growth and development of the Michigan State Fair, and its ownership transfer to the Michigan Department of Agriculture was completed under the direction of Joseph L. Hudson of Hudson's Department Store and the Hudson Motor Company. (Oh, we really miss Hudson's Department Store!)

Shameless Plug, please read my husband's blog The "D" Spot...

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