|
ONE GREAT ANN ARBOR RESTAURANT TO REPLACE ANOTHER IN KERRYTOWN Eat will move into the space being vacated by The Lunch Room Diner & Canteen. The Lunch Room’s operations have been combined with its sister restaurant Detroit Street Filling Station. Eat will keep its carry-out location on Packard Rd.
This fall, Kerrytown Market & Shops will see the replacement of one Ann Arbor classic restaurant with another. Eat—the new American, scratch kitchen catering and carry-out operation owned by Blake Reetz and Emilia Mauck—will gain a dining room and a downtown presence. The Lunch Room LLC will take a step toward sustainability by consolidating from three restaurants to two: still operating will be Detroit Street Filling Station and The Lunch Room Bakery & Café. The Lunch Room’s Kerrytown location has been closed since mid-March, when dining rooms were shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak. The Lunch Room management at that time moved operations across the street to Detroit Street Filling Station. From that larger location, the business has continued to offer vegan fare for curbside pickup, delivery, and outdoor dining. The Lunch Room Diner & Canteen’s closure was intended to be temporary, however the continuing pandemic has made clear the difficulty in profitably re-opening the space. To date, the menu at Detroit Street Filling Station includes many Lunch Room favorites and the staff consists of members of both restaurants. “We opened Detroit Street Filling Station in 2017, when the demand for our food became more than we could accommodate at The Lunch Room,” stated Phillis Engelbert, owner of The Lunch Room LLC. “At the time it made sense to have two restaurants just 550 feet apart. Both places were often packed, with lines out the door. Now, given the uncertainty around the pandemic, it is unwise to try to operate both restaurants. We are closing The Lunch Room because is in the best interest of the business to concentrate our resources. And we are excited to welcome our friends at Eat to the neighborhood. This situation is truly win-win.” “We wish to thank our Lunch Room patrons,” added Engelbert, “and assure them that the spirit of The Lunch Room lives on at Detroit Street and at The Lunch Room Bakery & Café. We appreciate all their love and support over the years.” Eat and The Lunch Room have a relationship dating back to 2011, when each business operated a food cart at Mark’s Carts – the former food cart courtyard on the west edge of downtown Ann Arbor. “Blake Reetz, Eat’s chef and co-owner, was extremely helpful in guiding us in the kitchen,” said Engelbert. “Our business was in its infancy and Blake showed us the ropes.” “This expansion is very exciting for us,” stated Reetz. "As more and more of our catering clients were forced to cancel their events, we knew it was time to expand on our carry-out operation. The Kerrytown location will give us the opportunity to reach a wider audience and eventually transition into a full service restaurant.” Eat plans to open its Kerrytown space for carry-out in early October. The menu will be largely similar to their current offerings on Packard Rd, with the addition of brunch on weekends. The Lunch Room LLC’s two other locations remain open: • Detroit Street Filling Station, located at 300 Detroit Street, is open seven days. Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday noon-8pm. 734-224-2161 thelunchrooma2.com/order • Lunch Room Bakery and Café, located in Huron Towers Apartments on the north side of Ann Arbor, is open for carry-out breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday from 8am to 3pm. 734-224-8872 thelunchrooma2.com/order Eat is currently open for carry-out/curbside pick-up at 1906 Packard, Tuesday-Saturday from 11am to 9pm. 734-231-7011 https://eat-llc-2.square.site/ For more information contact: Phillis Engelbert, The Lunch Room, thelunchrooma2@gmail.com, 734-224-2161 Emilia Mauck, Eat, info@eatannarbor.com, 734-213-7011
|
