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Avalon’s Midtown location is not our only favorite bakery, but also our go-to spot to pickup Metro Times. COURTESY PHOTO

Detroit’s Avalon to close its Midtown cafe and move into Jolly Pumpkin

By Randiah C amille G reen

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER,

especially good things that we wish would. Case in point, our favorite bakery, Avalon International Breads, is closing its agship ca e at illis St as o an

The Midtown staple has been there since the late ’90s, pumping out Avalon’s famed sea salt chocolate chunk cookies, soft bread, and vegan treats with organic our

As a consolation, the bakery isn’t just closing down shop altogether — they’re moving around the corner into a space inside olly ump in at anfield

The new location is set to open in February serving Avalon favorites, weekend brunch, and a few new menu items with additional dine-in space. Cafe owners cited the ID pandemic as the catalyst for rethinking their business model into a collaborati e e ort with olly ump in sharing resources

“ hile we lea e our first home o more than years with both sadness and gratitude, we look forward to building a sustainable model combining the resources and strengths o both businesses ” ac ie ictor Avalon Co-founder said in a press release. he illis ca e was alon’s first location and the bakery has since expanded to four other outposts throughout Southeast ichigan including recently opened spots inside Meijer-operated Rivertown Market and oodward orner ar et

According to the release, Avalon is working to transition the majority of employees at its illis agship to the new Midtown location.

Eastern Market Brewing Co. drops alcoholfree beer

WHETHER YOU’RE GOING

boo e ree or dry anuary or ust don’t drink, Eastern Market Brewing Co. has something for you.

The brewery dropped two nonalcoholic gose-style sours in grapefruit and tangerine which come in ounce cans s a ellow person who doesn’t drink, the alcohol-free beers are welcome news.

Its campaign for the NA beers is dubbed “ et Shit Done” since you can enjoy one without becoming completely sloshed and useless.

The cans come in four packs that are on shelves at Busch’s Fresh ood ar et otal ine and other local retailers across metro Detroit, according to a press release. They’ll also, of course, be available at the brewery’s taproom in Eastern Market and sister locations Ferndale ro ect and incoln ap

The NA beers are a couple of years

Chick- l-A is opening another restaurant

HERE’S SOME GOOD news for local ans o problematic a e hic fil the fast food restaurant chain is opening its latest store on hursday at Middlebelt Rd., Livonia.

It’s owned and operated by Vikki Hardy Brown, a Detroiter and graduate of Cass echnical igh School and the ni ersity of Michigan. According to a press release, Brown and her family always made a point to stop at hic fil restaurants while on acation in the South waiting or the day the Atlanta-based chain would expand to Michigan. hic fil has e panded into the reat a es State in recent years and the i onia store oins other restaurants in metro Detroit including at the Somerset Collection and the Detroit Metropolitan ayne ounty irport Still a no elty up here in the North, many of the metro Detroit locations are known for long lines that can spill into the streets, so hopefully this new store will ease demand.

The chain is known for its owners’ staunch Christian values, including closing its stores on Sundays It has aced bac lash for donating to conservative causes, though hic fil has distanced itsel rom its anti-LGBT+ stance in recent years.

—Lee DeVito

in the making. Eastern Market Brewing Co. started testing the booze-free mar et in in partnership with Minnesota-based ABV Technology to install a machine at its production facility called the Equalizer.

The machine can turn a normal beer into a hard seltzer or another beer with most o the same a or but less than percent alcohol by volume.

“ hen we began contemplating the NA market and learned about echnology’s machine my first reaction was that it sounded too good to be true e could ta e any o our beers, run it through the machine, and not only get an NA version of the beer, but also a hard seltzer output,” Dayne Bartcht, managing partner of Eastern Market Brewing Co., said in the news release “So we loaded up a car with kegs, drove to Minnesota, and sure enough, it worked. It was the best NA beer I’ve tasted.”

The NA Grapefruit Gose is described as having grapefruit zest and pink Himalayan sea salt with a bright citrus a or or more in o see easternmarket.beer/beers.

—Randiah Camille Green