Detroit mega-developer Zaid Elia will welcome an eclectic new Asian restaurant to the confines of his 511 Woodward building this summer.
Experience Zuzu is expected to open in July on the ground-floor esplanade of the downtown Detroit high rise at 511 Woodward Ave., Elia announced in a news release this week.
The commercial developer/restaurateur is founder and CEO of the award-winning Elia Group, a development and hospitality firm that built Parc Detroit and has taken ownership of the iconic Ford Building in the heart of the city’s Financial District.
“Along with iCrave, a world-renowned design firm, we curated a space to create a totally immersive and unforgettable iconic experience for our guests, unlike any other in downtown Detroit or even the Midwest,” Elia said in a statement.
The 511 Woodward building is a five-story, multi-use structure that boasts more than 30,000 square feet of office and retail space. Originally built in the early 1970s as headquarters for Detroit Federal Savings and Loan, the building sat vacant several years before the Elia Group did a full makeover in 2020.
Inspired by dining hautes along the strips of Miami and Las Vegas, Experience Zuzu is being “designed to stimulate all the senses,” according to the Elia Group. The restaurant will draw on centuries-old marvels of Asian cooking to offer a menu replete with hand-rolled sushi dishes, fun appetizers and smoky wok hei entrees flame broiled in a charcoal oven or over a wood-fired grill.
An outdoor patio facing the Woodward boulevard will feature a full-service bar that serves bespoke cocktails, premium bottle service and and a specially-sourced selection of sake, champagne and wine.
Experience Zuzu will become the latest addition to the Iconic Collection, Elia Group’s operations arm. It will be joined by the Upstairs Bar, a luxurious cocktail lounge also slated to open this July on the second floor of 511 Woodward.
The ownership group hopes the new arrivals follow in the tradition of some of the other restaurants and hospitality venues in Iconic Collection’s arsenal like 220 Merrill, Cadillac Lodge and The Duke at the Kingsley Hotel of Bloomfield Hills.
“From the fabric to the food, every detail has been thoughtfully curated and meticulously selected to create a sexy and theatrical experience,” Elia Group said of Experience Zuzu in its announcement.
