Detroit, MI

Detroit diner Rose’s Fine Food is back, and it feels like a homecoming

Published

4 months ago

October 31, 2025

Detroit diner Rose’s Fine Food is back, and it feels like a homecoming

Detroit basks in the glory of resiliency, welcoming praise for its triumph over a series of tribulations — bankruptcy, political corruption, deindustrialization. This resilience has earned Detroit the moniker of “America’s Comeback City,” reemerging not to her former glory perhaps, but, after weathering a few storms, into an even more beautiful patinaed version of herself.

Rose’s Fine Food on Detroit’s east side is a reflection of the city in which it resides.

When it returned after a two-year shutter, Rose’s, the Comeback Kid, didn’t come back with flash or the pizzazz that some restaurateurs see as a prerequisite for dining in the age of social media. I’d argue it did the opposite.

Sure, a fresh start seemed a ripe opportunity for owner Molly Mitchell to give the tiny East Jefferson building a fresh coat of paint in a custom green that nods to the shade of the Detroit River. A pair of charging stations for electric vehicles were also added to the parking lot, but inside, things feel much the same — delightfully lived-in.

Aptly so. For nine years, guests filed into the quintessential diner, ordering the egg sandwich specials scrawled on a chalkboard and griddled pancakes browned by the flat top, which followed a recipe from Mitchell’s grandfather. When the space transformed into a bottle shop during the COVID-19 pandemic, guests would collar sparkling wine or pét-nats well before the average diner became fluent in natural wines, understanding that skin contact means more than brushing up against your neighbor at the bar. Today, scuff marks from nearly a decade of foot traffic add to the restaurant’s wear, and therefore its charm.

Visiting the new Rose’s is as if you hit pause on a classic film in VHS and pressed play in 4K UHD. The place is slightly spruced up — photos on the walls have been rearranged, ornamental mirrors added and that pink-cushioned soda fountain barstool, once anchored off kilter at the end of the 12-seat bar, now splits the counter seating evenly at the center — but the premise is the same. Diners gather around wooden tables topped with dishes that wink at Mitchell’s Polish heritage and smile at in-season ingredients.

Whereas Rose’s was once a brunch destination, new evening-only hours mean you’ll slice into fork-tender kopytka, chubby potato dumplings seared and dressed in dill and garlicky butter. Paired with zucchini spears and pine nuts, your tongue tussles with pillowy soft textures and crunch. Creamy navy beans, once served with an egg at the former Rose’s Fine Food, are now a dinner snack, glossed in a pungent broth spiked with herbs, most notably dill, which you’ll see a dozen times over — in the tomatoes and the sourdough, on the Polish nachos, the plate of pickles and the cabbage slaw.

As the sun sets, the room bounces in the light of flickering tapers, dripping wax in shades of merlot and blush down to their vintage saucers. Servers drop citrusy, umami pickle martinis with dots of dill oil floating at the surface, as if you dropped a beaded bracelet into your glass.

Rose’s exists as a reset for a restaurant scene awash with bells and whistles. Here, cooks honor the thankless work of local farmers, not rendering Michigan produce unrecognizable, but enhancing its beauty by kissing baby radishes with just enough heat to make the dish juicy, and tossing sugared peaches in a simple syrup with vanilla bean and jalapenos until they’re slippery and just spicy enough to sting your lips. The peaches, plump and succulent, are the sort of ambrosial starter that fills you with so much joy you could cry.

Red and golden beets massaged with whey caramel and sprinkled with poppyseeds are so soft they melt. My heart eyes for the beets and the overall experience at Rose’s almost blinded me from noticing the dressing was hardly a caramel, but rather a congealed marinade with a grainy mouthfeel.

On one visit, a friend and I headed to the backyard garden where Mitchell grows many of the herbs incorporated throughout the menu, lanterns lighting up the space just enough for us to see the sunflowers, dahlias and cut flowers that decorate many of the dinner tables.

Come to think of it, your welcome to Rose’s is a preamble to the experience. A wooden console, something like an ofrenda, is topped with a whimsical floral arrangement, a few menus, a shiny silver water pitcher and produce as art. A crookneck squash wraps around two twinkling tea lights, and a massive bowl is filled with a rotation of seasonal ingredients — fresh garlic bulbs filled the summer bowl, while beautiful crimson apples were piled up for fall.

In the dimness of the room, you may miss the specials scribbled onto a mirror that hangs on a wall leading to the kitchen, but a server will bring it into focus. Food and drink specials are listed, like kompot, the refreshing Eastern European fruit juice — this one, tart and mildly flavored of cherry and plum.

There’s a delicate balance of fine food, as the diner’s name suggests, and homey meals. Duck confit veers toward the finer side, a delicate duck leg served on a silver platter with a sweet-savory creamy cherry glaze spilled beneath it. The meat is seductive in the way it’s tender and flavorful, and, tantalizingly, gone far too soon.

Dishes like smoked kielbasa and Rose’s burger are more comforting — the sausage link, split down the middle, has a thick, crisp skin and comes with sweet cabbage and corn doused in a rich, heavy cream sauce that delivers decadence without guilt. The burger feels as if it could very well have come out of your own kitchen, replacing fluffy buns with buttered slices of toasted sourdough. You’ll realize it’s a bacon burger in the playful way the cured meat is ground into a smoky-sweet jam and spread onto the bread.

In the same way that Mitchell celebrates Michigan farmers with the produce served at Rose’s, she links arms with other local purveyors. The kielbasa and beef for the burger are sourced from the women-owned butcher shop Marrow in Detroit’s West Village and sourdough from Black-owned home bakery Lillian’s Loaves.

Retro cakes by Venla’s Cakes are referential to the nostalgic time Rose’s aims to conjure. A time when diners had an identity and served affordable, handmade food, like fresh baked breads and signature sauces, to regulars who’d stop in several days a week. A time well before the ’90s, when Mitchell started working in diners. Buttercream frosting with intricate, drape-y piping covers tar, lemon poppyseed and floral raspberry rose slices. A chewy piece of candied carrot pierces the frosting on a spectacularly moist carrot cake. The potency of the carrot flavor on the candy is surprising and new, and the only drawback is that it sticks to my teeth so well, I’m concerned my tooth might go with it on the release.

The return of Rose’s feels like the homecoming of a lost love, like the return of the one that got away. Sometimes, you just want that old thing back

Rose’s Fine Food, 10551 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit. 313-822-2729; rosesdetroit.com

While Detroit Free Press restaurant critics are no longer anonymous at area restaurants, they do their best to avoid being pandered to by restaurant staff. They show up to most restaurants unannounced at least three times, and do not accept complimentary meals. The Free Press covers all meals reviewed by critics. Our journalists adhere to the USA TODAY NETWORK Principles of Ethical Conduct For Newsrooms.

Contact Detroit Free Press Dining and Restaurant Critic Lyndsay C. Green at: LCGreen@freepress.com. Follow @LadyLuff on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for extras and insider scoops on Detroit-area dining.

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Detroit, MI

Rapper Tee Grizzley plans mixed-use apartment project in Brush Park

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Rapper Tee Grizzley plans mixed-use apartment project in Brush Park

A new mixed-use, mixed-income apartment building proposed for Detroit’s Brush Park is expected to bring 37 units of housing to the neighborhood, according to the project’s lead developer.

The $12 million project at 205 Watson St., known as Wallace Estates, is owned by Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley, whose legal name is Terry Wallace. The 30,000-square-foot development is expected to go before the Detroit Historic District Commission on Wednesday for review. Because the quarter-acre site sits within a historic district, the commission must approve elements such as windows, brickwork, facade materials and other architectural features.

Wallace Estates is planned to be a five-story building with the residential units across the first four floors. The ground floor is expected to include a lobby, a walk-up apartment, commercial space and tuck-under parking. A partial fifth floor will house indoor and outdoor amenities for residents. The building is designed with a masonry facade and large, offset windows, according to the project application.

“Detroit raised me — I’m a west side kid, and I’m passionate about bringing mixed-income housing to my city,” Wallace said in a statement Thursday. “The 205 Watson project is about building safe, quality housing for everybody; that respects longtime residents and welcomes new neighbors — building opportunity without pushing people out.”

The project was the winning bid of a City of Detroit request for proposals for the site, said Nevan Shokar, principal of Shokar Group and the day-to-day development lead. McIntosh Poris Architects is the designer.

“It’s an infill site that’s bringing high-quality housing, both for affordable and market-rate renters,” Shokar said. “And I think it complements the neighborhood nicely with the brick aesthetic, as well as the brass inlays in the windows.”

Construction could begin this summer and be finished in 18 months, Shokar said, placing completion at late 2027.

Wallace Estates will join a wave of new residential development in Brush Park, a neighborhood that has seen nearly a decade of revitalization. Last summer, Bedrock celebrated the completion of City Modern, a nearly 10-year effort to transform a once-neglected area of the historic district.

Shokar said the building would primarily include studios and one-bedroom units, with a few two-bedroom apartments. About 20% of the units will be designated affordable at 80% of area median income, with the remainder rented at market rates.

“The highest demand that you have within this neighborhood and across the city as a whole, is to produce more studio and one-bedroom units,” Shokar said. “The two-bedroom units sometimes and larger sometimes have a hard time filling up, leasing up within buildings, and that’s why you typically see units generally smaller in size.”

Shokar said estimated rents for the new building could range from $1,800 per month for a 450-square-foot studio to $2,700 per month for an 800-square-foot two-bedroom unit.

Shokar said the team will pursue incentives including a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone tax abatement and a housing tax increment financing package.

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers 2026 roster prediction 2.0: Is Kevin McGonigle ready?

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Tigers 2026 roster prediction 2.0: Is Kevin McGonigle ready?

LAKELAND, FL – Opening Day is 21 days away.

The Detroit Tigers are deep into spring training in TigerTown. Pitchers and catchers reported Feb. 11, position players arrived Feb. 15, and the first game took place Feb. 21.

After three weeks of camp, including one and a half weeks of games, leaders have emerged in the battles for roster spots among pitchers and position players – but nothing is guaranteed.

Here’s a look at our second version of how the Tigers should fill their 26-man 2026 Opening Day roster, with exactly three weeks until the first game of the regular season.

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Right elbow arthroscopy in late January has limited Dingler in the early weeks of spring training, but he is expected to be fully healthy by Opening Day as the starting catcher.

The only question is how the Tigers will deploy their two catchers.

It could make sense for backup catcher Jake Rogers to catch left-handers Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, even though Dingler caught 25 of Skubal’s 31 starts last season. The reasoning is simple: The Tigers will need more offense from their catcher when their other three starters are pitching – and Dingler is the better hitter.

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Torkelson is locked into the Opening Day roster after hitting .240 with 31 home runs in 155 games last season, ranking 14th among 25 first basemen with a .789 OPS.

He has experienced ups and downs in his four-year MLB career, including two demotions to Triple-A Toledo and two seasons with 31 home runs. The next step is becoming an All-Star-caliber player.

This spring, Torkelson is hitting .250 (3-for-12) with four strikeouts in five games. He also went 1-for-2 with one walk (and two hit by pitches) in two games against Team Dominican Republic in a two-game exhibition series.

The Tigers retained Torres when he received and accepted the one-year, $22.03 million qualifying offer. He will be relied upon as the everyday second baseman in the lineup and a reliable on-base presence near the top of the batting order.

In 2025, Torres hit .256 with 16 home runs, 85 walks and 101 strikeouts across 145 games.

This spring, Torres is hitting .286 (4-for-14) with one walk and three strikeouts in five games. He left the Tigers to represent Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, which runs from March 5-17.

McGonigle hasn’t played above Double-A Erie, but his performance against Team Dominican Republic in the first game of the exhibition series showed why he belongs on the Opening Day roster.

The 21-year-old shortstop hit a first-pitch 98.1 mph fastball from right-hander Luis Severino for a leadoff home run in the first inning, pulling it 461 feet to right field with a 110.4 mph exit velocity – making noise in a new environment at the electric Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo. After the homer, he added a two-run single, five-pitch walk and leadoff single to finish his four plate appearances.

McGonigle has passed every on-field test in camp.

He also looks comfortable around big leaguers behind the scenes.

This spring, McGonigle is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two walks and four strikeouts across seven games. He also went 3-for-5 with two walks and two strikeouts in two games against Team Dominican Republic.

The Tigers are prepared for Keith to serve as the primary third baseman.

In 2024-25, Keith hit .237 with a .660 OPS during the months of March/April and May, then improved to .269 with a .744 OPS during the months of June, July, August and September/October.

If Keith starts slowly again, utility player Zach McKinstry could handle third base until he heats up. McGonigle could also slide over to third while McKinstry handles shortstop.

This spring, Keith is hitting .154 (2-for-13) with two walks and seven strikeouts across six games. He also went 3-for-6 with one strikeout in two games against Team Dominican Republic.

If McGonigle secures an Opening Day spot, the Tigers will need to cut one of four outfielders: Vierling, Wenceel Pérez, Jahmai Jones or Parker Meadows.

Among them, Vierling has performed the best in spring training (with a track record of success when healthy), Pérez provides value off the bench as the only switch-hitter (with experience at all three outfield positions) and Jones is the top option against left-handed pitchers (without any minor-league options remaining).

That leaves Meadows on the outside looking in.

Last season, Meadows hit .215 in 58 games while posting minus-1 defensive runs saved over more than 450 innings in center field. This spring, he is hitting .059 (1-for-17) with one walk and five strikeouts in six games. He also went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Team Panama in an exhibition game.

The Tigers plan to use Greene at designated hitter more often after just 21 starts there last season. As a result, Carpenter has spent more time in left field this spring, in addition to his primary position in right field.

Even so, Carpenter should still receive most of the starts at designated hitter. Injuries have limited him from completing a full season during his four-year MLB career, and the designated hitter role helps keep his bat in the lineup while reducing wear and tear on his body.

This spring, Carpenter is hitting .235 (4-for-17) with six strikeouts in six games, making three starts in right field, two in left field and one at designated hitter. He also went 1-for-3 with one home run against Team Panama, starting in left field.

If McGonigle starts at shortstop, Meadows gets demoted to Triple-A Toledo and Báez takes over in center field, the Tigers would have McKinstry, Pérez and Jones as their three position players on the bench, not including Rogers as the backup catcher.

Who is next in line?

McKinstry and Rogers should be secure, but Pérez and Jones could find themselves on the hot seat if they struggle early in the season because neither has an established track record of success.

Pérez could be replaced by Trei Cruz, a switch-hitter who plays center field and shortstop, offering more defensive versatility than anyone else in the organization. Jones could be replaced by Hao-Yu Lee, a right-handed-hitting infielder who crushes left-handed pitchers, balancing the roster with above-average defense at second and third base.

Both Cruz and Lee joined the Tigers’ 40-man roster in mid-November, protecting them from the Rule 5 draft.

This spring, Cruz is hitting .308 (4-for-13) with three walks and one strikeout in seven games. He also went 0-for-3 with one strikeout against Team Panama, starting at shortstop.

The Big Five is locked in.

The Tigers bolstered their rotation by signing Valdez and Verlander in the 10 days leading up to spring training, helping offset the loss of right-hander Reese Olson to season-ending shoulder surgery. Right-hander Troy Melton could also miss significant time after being shut down from throwing with right elbow inflammation.

Moving from Olson to Verlander is a downgrade, but the Tigers still boast the best one-two punch in baseball with Skubal and Valdez at the top of the rotation. If another injury occurs, right-hander Drew Anderson is expected to shift from the bullpen into the rotation.

Five relievers are locked in with Jansen, Finnegan, Vest, Holton and Anderson, leaving three openings.

The Tigers already thinned the competition by optioning right-handers Keider Montero, Ty Madden and Dylan Smith to Triple-A Toledo, with Montero and Madden providing starting depth. The Tigers also lost right-handed reliever Beau Brieske to right ribcage tightness this spring, though the severity of the injury remains unknown.

Both Hurter and Hanifee have been key bullpen pieces in the past, making them top candidates for two of the three openings. But Hanifee has a notable flaw: He has thrived against right-handed hitters as a ground-ball specialist with his sinker-slider approach, but left-handers have hit .307 with an .857 OPS.

If the Tigers carry three left-handed relievers, Sommers could have the inside track on the final spot in the bullpen, especially with Bailey Horn still rehabbing from left elbow arthroscopy.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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Detroit, MI

Report: Lions tender K Jake Bates ERFA offer

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Report: Lions tender K Jake Bates ERFA offer

The Detroit Lions are starting to take care of their own ahead of free agency, and it begins with one of the easier decisions to make. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have tendered kicker Jake Bates an exclusive rights free agent offer. What that means is Bates now has a one-year contract offer at the minimum salary ($1,075,000 for Bates). He can choose to sign it or sit out the season.

The reason the Lions can offer this ERFA tender is because Bates’ contract is expiring after just two accrued seasons in the NFL. All players with fewer than three years of experience who are on expiring contracts could be offered these ERFA tenders. In fact, the Lions did so with three other ERFAs earlier this offseason, all of whom already signed the deals: OL Michael Niese, RB Jacob Saylors, and CB Nick Whiteside.

Bates is coming off a season where he took a step back after an outstanding 2024. After making 89.7% of his field goals in his first year with the Lions, Bates slid back to just 79.4% accuracy. That said, five of his seven misses all season were from 50+ yards, and he was a perfect 14-of-14 from 39 yards or shorter. Additionally, he increased his extra point accuracy from 95.5% to 96.4%. He also steadily improved at the new NFL kickoff, which requires a lot more precision from kickers to boot the ball as close to the goal line without going into the end zone.

It’s unclear if the Lions intend on bringing in competition for Bates this offseason, but special teams coordinator Dave Fipp made it abundantly clear all last season that they value Bates, despite some struggles in 2025.

“Clearly, we have a very, very good player,” Fipp said in December. “If you put him on the streets, there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away. And the truth is, we’d have a really hard time finding a guy even near the same player as him.”

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