Near Knight’s Market, behind the office building at Miller and First, passersby may catch a glimpse of a bright red double-decker bus in the back of the parking lot. Husband-and-wife team Aaron and Miriam Orr had it shipped from London and transformed it into 1923, a “bustaurant” they hoped to open around the time the Observer went to press. With rooftop and patio seating, 1923 will serve tacos, appetizers, and rolled ice cream. 

The restaurant, named for the year the first engine-powered double decker was released in London, will have a permanent home in its leased parking lot space. Chef Rosa Merlos will serve “super fresh food with worldwide flavors,” says Miriam, including seven signature tacos and homemade tortilla chips with Merlos’s Mexico City salsa recipe. 

Aaron’s mother sparked the idea for the venture after telling the couple about a double-decker bus she visited in North Carolina that was converted into a coffee shop. The Orrs, who were married last year—and share five children ages seven to fifteen—have worked in the hospitality industry since they were teens and wanted a family business that tapped their skills in restaurant management and serving. 

After “dozens of ‘nos’” from lenders, Miriam says, they secured financing and in May, the bus made the weeklong sail from Liverpool. But at the last minute their scheduled driver canceled and the couple were forced to get the bus from New Jersey to Ann Arbor on their own. As Aaron navigated the thirty-footer with the steering wheel on the right side through traffic jams and construction for twenty-three hours straight, Miriam cheered him on while she sat in a plastic lawn chair she’d purchased during a fuel stop. 

“It drove like a champ,” she says of the 1980 Bristol. But between the diesel fumes, deafening engine noise, and annoyed drivers who honked their disapproval at the bus’s top speed of forty-five miles-per-hour, Aaron says, it was “mentally exhausting.” Over the summer they refurbished the bus and built a customized kitchen.

“We want people to build memories here,” Aaron says. “We want a place people can bring their dogs and their kids.” They plan to decorate based on the season, feature Aaron’s deejay talents on special evenings, and rent the space for private events. During cold months they plan to add a geodesic dome and electric heat to the carpeted parking-lot patio. 

“It’ll be like a snow globe,” Aaron says, “and with the lights it will look like a Christmas card.” 

1923, 320 S. Miller (in the back of the parking lot), (734) 934–0969. Tues.–Thurs. noon–8 p.m., Fri. & Sat. noon–10 p.m., Sun. noon–4 p.m. Closed Mon. 1923.llc and Instagram: @1923llc

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