Dan Kolander was too busy to take on the former Seitz’s Tavern space when Randy Seitz retired. When he saw it was for rent again, he jumped at his second chance. | Photo by J. Adrian Wylie
Husband-and-wife team Dan and Sarah Kolander—longtime owners of Dan’s Downtown Tavern in Saline—purchased Chelsea Burger, in the space formerly occupied by Seitz’s Tavern. In an interview before a planned late-September opening, Dan Kolander says they’ll serve a “simple, easy menu” of burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and weekly specials—and they’ve applied for a liquor license.
Kolander says he’d wanted to buy the business in 2018 when Randy Seitz decided to retire, but didn’t have the time. In June, when a friend spotted a “For Lease” sign in the window of the vacant Chelsea Burger, Kolander jumped at his second chance.
A 1980 Chelsea High grad, Kolander got his start in the restaurant business with a bartending gig at the Woodshed Eatery (now Cleary’s Pub) and worked everywhere from the Common Grill to Applebee’s corporate before opening his namesake tavern in 1997. His wife and “rock star,” Sarah, will run Dan’s Downtown Tavern while he gets their “new baby” off the ground.
Property owner Paul Fredenberg opened the original Chelsea Burger in late 2020 with business partner Raunaq Savur after extensive renovations. The restaurant closed in 2022; Paul’s wife, Alison, posted on Facebook that the “operating partnership fell through.”
Seitz’s iconic sign and photos of its history are displayed on the wall, and its 107-year-old cherrywood bar is still the centerpiece. Kolander hopes to reclaim a few more of Seitz’s items, including the back liquor racks, a round table, and euchre tables.
The Kolanders inherited the Fredenbergs’ “Chelsea Burger” sign, and will keep it. “It’s awesome and lights up at night,” says Kolander. Although the corporate name remains “Chelsea Tavern,” he calls it “Dan’s Chelsea Burger,” and says they’ll answer the phone the same way they do in Saline: “Dan’s!”
Related: Dan’s Expands Again
Dan’s Chelsea Burger, 110 W. Middle, Chelsea. (734) 562–2160. Mon.–Wed. 11 a.m.–7 or 8 p.m., Thurs.–Sat. 11 a.m.–TBA (dependent on sports games). Closed Sun.
