Downtown Ypsilanti residents have plans for an all-day space to grab a coffee and socialize.
Bowerbird Social is a new cafe to open at 210 W Michigan Avenue. It comes from co-owner Brent Krahn and his wife Kelley who live above the space, and they plan to eventually add a wine bar after debuting the cafe. Krahn told What Now Detroit there is no opening date as the team is in the “preliminary stages” of development.
Krahn and his wife have been planning the project for about a month. They see a desire in the area for an all day cafe and wine bar space for people to gather. Initially, the cafe will serve coffees and pastries, and in the future wine and small bites will be offered if the project is successful enough.
“It needs to grow organically,” Krahn said.
While a cafe and wine bar down the road is the plan, Krahn also had the idea of opening a bodega for the area. He said many in the area want to see the trend of an all day cafe and wine bar come to Ypsilanti soon. This will not be a full-service food concept.
The cafe will be right in downtown and to the left of the popular Ziggy’s bar. This was formerly the Bowerbird Mongo antique shop, which has been vacant for a while. It is across the street from concepts like Tap Room Grill, Red Rock Barbecue and Bridge Community Cafe.
“We’re really excited to become part of the downtown community and bring some life back to this storefront. Thanks in advance for the ideas, feedback, and warm Ypsi welcome,” said a recent post from the owners.
Right now, work is being done on the interior and inspections are taking place. After this happens, the Krahns can start to seek a liquor license to debut the wine bar addition. They recently posted a survey to hear what members of the community want to see at Bowerbird Social, which can be found here.
