The Pretzel Bell, the recent relaunch of the University of Michigan-themed bar and restaurant, is adding a next-door event space. Called the Captain’s Room, after a basement meeting place in the original P-Bell featuring the photos of U-M sports team captains, the space is designed to accommodate larger private parties in an environment similar to the adjacent restaurant. Co-owner Jon Carlson says it will include an upstairs and downstairs area similar to the restaurant’s layout, four seventy-five-inch television screens, and classic arcade games like Skee ball and Foosball. Carson says the space is designed to fit any gathering from a small party to 100 people: “It could be for a cocktail party, a wedding reception, a business seminar …”In preparation for the new space, the Pretzel Bell has just hired a private party manager and is developing a private party menu. The opportunity to lease the space came in April, when former tenant Graphic Art Wholesalers opted to move its frame shop to a new location on Zeeb rather than renew its downtown lease. The building owners, A2 Curtis, leased the location to Pretzel Bell shortly after. Carlson is aiming for a November 1 opening for the Captain’s Room.
Pretzel Bell, 226 S. Main, 994-2773. Restaurant (ground floor): Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-midnight, Sat. 10 a.m.-midnight, Sun. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Bar (basement, serving limited menu): Mon.-Fri. 3 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-2 a.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-midnight.thepretzelbell.com
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Babo, the combination grocery store, coffee shop, and restaurant at 403 E. Washington, closed in mid-October for three weeks of renovations as well as rebranding and a change in concept and focus. It plans to reopen November 2.
Since its opening in 2011, babo (which shuns an initial uppercase letter) has brought street-level vitality to a long-dormant corner of downtown as well as a convenient option for the hundreds of new residents in the high-rises that have transformed the nearby blocks.
Babo owner Sava Lelcaj says many customers have asked, “It’s not broken, so why fix it?” She says the change is more about focus: “We’re trying to take the twenty things we do well and turn them into ten things we can do a whole lot better.” For instance, she says, with Zingerman’s just half a dozen blocks away, they’ll never be the best cheese store in the neighborhood.
Lelcaj also wants to fix a few operational challenges, including serving grocery shoppers and eat-in diners at the same time in the same space. And she’s looking to provide more options for her student employees. While babo has been tweaking its layout and product mix since it opened, Lelcaj says she decided to close entirely for three weeks to make larger changes. “Now I want to regroup to reach our full potential,” she says. “We’re going to fix it before it’s broken.”
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In other Lelcaj news, since its opening last May, Fred’s, a breakfast-and-lunch spot in a sliver of a storefront at 1113 South University, had garnered unanimous five-star reviews from the usually tough crowd on Yelp.
So customers disappointed to see the place shuttered earlier this fall will be glad to learn that the closing isn’t permanent. Owner Fred Lelcaj, Sava’s brother, is doing some remodeling, making the space ADA-compliant as well as a few other changes, and hopes to reopen by the end of October.
With only twelve seats in 500 square feet, Lelcaj says he served a lot of carryout customers from his mostly organic and vegetarian menu in the few months he was open.
“My aim was to try this model out in this neighborhood, and it’s really worked,” he says. When he finally dared to look at the online reviews after being open a month, “it felt really good” to see the raves for his kale smoothies, avocado toast, and acai bowls.
“I don’t want anybody to leave Fred’s without feeling better,” he says.
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A sudden conviviality struck Miles of Golf this summer when it acquired a nineteenth hole. The driving range and pro shop on Carpenter isn’t a golf course, but owner Chris Mile opened Pat’s Tavern by the Green, an outdoor window with some tables, after Pittsfield Township granted him a Class C liquor license. There’s no inside bar, and by now Pat’s Tavern is probably closed for the winter, but that’s only the beginning of a transformation that will eventually make four-season use of the license.
Mile bought the business in 1995. Then an executive golf course called Pat’s Par 3, “it had fallen on hard times, but the place has a nice history going back to 1953,” he says. He named the tavern Pat’s to keep that bit of history alive.
“Over the winter, we’re enclosing the second deck of the driving range,” now three-sided with heaters, “and putting in golf simulators.” Drinks will be served there, most likely by the same people who sell you golf clubs in the pro shop. “Most of us had the training,” says manager and fitter Kevin Johns. He means the state-mandated TIPS training for booze handlers at newly licensed establishments.
Simulated golf is so popular in Korea, “more rounds are played than actual golf,” says Mile. Not to be confused with a mere computer game, simulated golf lets you whack a real golf ball into a screen, and “it’s like you’re standing where it landed” on some famous golf course of your choice. Asked if this might even be fun for a non-golfer, just for the virtual thrill of it, he hastily answers no. You have to be able to hit a real ball to get much out of the experience. But it does allow golfers to keep their skills sharp throughout the winter and in other inclement weather. However, you won’t have to be a golfer to partake of his liquor license.
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Mezzevino closed in October after less than three years in business. The Mediterranean restaurant “just did not meet financial expectations,” Mainstreet Ventures marketing director Julie White says regretfully. With nineteen other restaurants, five of them in Ann Arbor, “hopefully we can get [Mezzevino employees] placed” in new jobs, White says. She particularly wants to thank manager Nikki Leibold: “She and her team worked so hard. The restaurant received such great feedback.” In the end, though, Mainstreet Ventures just couldn’t make this non-Main Street restaurant work. Landlord Ed Shaffran says the failure was particularly hard for Mainstreet Ventures co-founder Dennis Serras–Mezzevino was based on his home cuisine.
Shaffran already has a new tenant: Avalon. Jackie Victor, co-founder of the Detroit artisanal bakery, says they’ll be selling breads and pastries, making sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, and serving a dinner menu she’s putting together with Jolly Pumpkin managing partner Maggie Long, a longtime friend and culinary collaborator. In addition to taking over the Mezzevino’s space, Avalon bought its liquor license–so the restaurant’s bar, after serving coffee by day, will turn into the real thing by night. Victor’s aiming for a December opening.
