A community grant has made a new anticipated cafe possible.
Vander Cafe is a new concept coming to the neighborhood at 626 Harper Avenue. This follows Vander, a creative hub at the address, being awarded a $60,000 Motor City Match Grant to open the space. Right now, they are hoping to debut by the end of the year.
The Vander building opened as a creative space earlier this year, and was originally an electrical controls factory from the 1930s. This is part of Milwaukee Junction, an up and coming business district in the city. The cafe space at the building will be around 500 square feet.
“Over the last year we’ve been renovating this building to make affordable and accessible space for industrious creatives. Adding the cafe allows the entire community to come in. Vander itself generally means “from the” in Dutch, so building a space from the community for the community is really important to us,” founder of Vander Lisa Sauve said in a press release.
While the menu is going to be focused on coffees like espressos and lattes, evening options will also be served. These include non-alcoholic cocktails, small bites and dishes from other restaurants that have not been announced. A full kitchen is being installed at the space.
The building is at the intersection of Harper Avenue and St. Antoine Street. This is close to the Interstate 94 on-ramp, with other concepts nearby including Bucharest Grill – Piquette and Z’s Villa. Wayne State University is only a few blocks from the building.
For more information on Vander Cafe and the building, visit their website.
