Bites

FOOD

Sleek restaurant Zana opens in downtown Birmingham

By Lee D eV ito

Designers pulled out all the stops for Zana.

HAYDEN STINEBAUGH

AN EXTRAVAGANTLY DE-

SIGNED restaurant that features gold trim, mosaic tiles, and a far-out, hand-blown glass light fixture from the Czech Republic has opened its doors in downtown Birmingham.

The new spot, called Zana, is located in the former The Bird & The Bread space at 210 S. Old Woodward Ave. It’s the latest restaurant by the Tallulah Group, which also operates Birmingham’s Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro and Detroit’s Besa.

“Guests should expect a dining experience that will transcend taste through alluring ambiance, bold flavors and unparalleled service,” said Johnny Prenci, Zana’s general manager and partner, in a press release.

The menu was led by Chef Jason Bamford, a chef from Michigan whose career started at New York’s Culinary Institute of America and included stints as VIP chef at NYC’s Waldorf Astoria and executive chef at Miami’s Delano Hotel.

“I’ve been fortunate to have worked all over the country but was waiting for the right opportunity to return home to Michigan,” Bamford said in a press release. “It’s an honor to now be part of the Zana family.”

The menu includes dishes like steak tartare (with 12-hour tomato, shiitake, burnt onion, cress, and marrow toast, under smoke), octopus (with fennel, potato, cured olive, celery, chicharron, nduja, and lemon), whole black bass (with olive, citrus, herbs, potato tostones, and Shishito pepper zhoug), and lamb chops (with coco spice, shaved kohlrabi, apple, cress, black barley, mint, and pomegranate vinaigrette.)

Zana’s cocktail program is led by mixologist Anthony Escalante.

The 10,000-square-foot space includes a bar, private dining room, and seating for up to 135 guests.

More information is available at zanabham.com.

Kum & Go is ‘kumming’ to Detroit

THE HUMOROUSLY NAMED

convenience store chain K um & Go is coming to metro Detroit.

The family-owned, Iowa-based company announced that it plans to open stores in the Detroit area in 2024, and more than 50 in Michigan in the coming (kumming?) years.

The company previously announced an expansion into Grand Rapids.

“We are excited to announce our entry into the Detroit market,” said K um & Go CEO Tanner Krause in a statement. “We’ve been warmly welcomed as we prepare to enter the Grand Rapids area and with the addition of Detroit, believe K um & Go will be the lead convenience operator across the state as we continue our growth and expansion. Michigan is full of great people and great communities, and we know K um & Go’s fresh perspective to convenience will create many opportunities there.”

“We’re thrilled to continue our expansion in Michigan with this move into the Detroit area,” said Niki Mason, senior vice president of store development. “Detroit’s ever evolving and changing city presents an exciting opportunity for growth and expansion. We’re excited to start serving and connecting with this community.”

The expansion comes (kums ) as the company has launched a new madeto-order menu dubbed “Real, Fresh, Fast Eats” meant to compete with fast-casual restaurants that has been described as “better-than-fast food but faster-than-fast-casual food,” including sandwiches, burritos, bowls, and cold brews. K um & Go also uses compostable silverware and straws, recyclable cups and lids, and paper or post-consumer recycled food packaging.

The Red Hook will host a pop-up in former Great Lakes Coffee Co.

AFTER ONE LOCAL coffee company closed, another is poised to take its space — at least for one night.

Signs for local coffee company The Red Hook were spotted on the former Great Lakes Coffee Company in Midtown by a Metro Times reporter last week.

The Red Hook owner Sandi Heaselgrave tells Metro Times by email that The Red Hook plans to open a pop-up in the space on Noel Night, the holiday event planned for Saturday, Dec. 3.

No word on whether The Red Hook will permanently move into the space.

The Great Lakes Coffee Company store closed in January during a COVID-19 outbreak, prompting staff to go on strike in demand of union recognition and better working conditions.

It never reopened, and as the months-long labor dispute dragged out, the company closed its other locations inside Meijer stores in Detroit and Royal Oak. Those two locations have since become outposts for another local company, Avalon International Breads.

The Red Hook operates three other stores in metro Detroit, including downtown Ferndale, West Village, and its “Greenway” location near the riverfront. That third location closed earlier this year when a car crashed into it, but according to a post on The Red Hook’s Instagram page, it aims to reopen in midDecember.

—Lee DeVito

It also has some cute merch and an appropriately humorous social media presence.

The company, which has more than 400 stores in 11 states, says it offers full time employment opportunities with benefits including medical and dental coverage, tuition reimbursement, 401(k) with match, paid time off, parental leave, and more. It also has a policy of donating 10 of its profits back to the local community. (K ummunity?)

“Welkum” to Detroit!