It’s been quite some time since we checked in with Detroit Lions fans regarding their opinion of general manager Brad Holmes. The last time we polled our audience was almost exactly a year ago, following the team’s 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, those poll results were lost to time (and a migration to a new content management system at SB Nation).
Detroit, MI
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After Thursday’s Christmas holiday, it’s time to get ready for what’s become an annual tasty Detroit event.
This Friday starts the week sandwiched between Christmas and New Year’s.
And in Detroit, that means it’s time to get ready for what’s become a Detroit tradition, founded by a Detroiter: Detroit Sandwich Week.
The annual Detroit Sandwich Week celebrates five days and seven events of sandwiches at local restaurants.
It’s been a dozen years since local sandwich and overall food enthusiast Carlos Parisi came up with the idea of Detroit Sandwich Week to help support local businesses during a slow time.
Doing so also allowed Parisi to take sandwiches to another level.
“It’s beautiful because what Sandwich Week has done is given me a chance and an opportunity to do so much more,” Parisi said. “I started a podcast and was able to host TV shows and now the sandwich party, the Detroit sandwich party, which is insanely successful. It all stems from sandwich week.”
Parisi is also the owner and founder of Aunt Nee’s, whose products include Detroit-made tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole sold at Eastern Market and several metro Detroit stores.
Detroit Sandwich Week started out while Parisi worked at a corporate job. During the holiday season, Parisi and others were able to take longer lunch hours and got the idea to help support local businesses during the period between Christmas and New Year’s.
While over the years the event grew, it’s stayed true to its mission of supporting local businesses. Each year, the event typically draws hundreds of people to stop in a select group of sandwich shops.
Parisi said that while Sandwich Week was something he first started with friends, it’s now taken on a life of its own.
“It’s really cool because in the lexicon of Detroit, you hear other people say sandwich week,” he said. “That’s so amazing because we know that what that means is, it’s the week between the two holidays where we go and support small business. And celebrate it by eating sandwiches.”
Events this year include a ticketed dinner and the final Detroit Sandwich Week party.
This year’s Detroit Sandwich Week kicks off noon-3 p.m. Friday at Mudgie’s Deli & Wine Shop on Brooklyn Street in Corktown.
Founded by the late Greg Mudge, the famed Corktown spot is known for its hearty sandwiches piled with fresh-cut meats and cheese, soups and its wine shop. Mudge, who died in September 2021, name is now officially on a secondary street sign above the Brooklyn Street sign in Corktown.
Other sandwich stops are:
- Vesper, 5001 Grand River Ave., Detroit, noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27. A wine bar and cookbook store, Vesper is in a former bank building in Detroit’s Core City. Ayiti Spaghetti, a pop-up, joins Vesper.
- Ladder 4 Wine Bar, noon-3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28. Located in a Detroit neighborhood, Ladder 4 Wine Bar is in a restored former 1910 Detroit Fire Department house. In 2023, Ladder 4 Wine Bar was named the Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Restaurant of the Year.
- Dakota Inn Rathskeller, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. on Dec. 28. Featuring a 15-foot sandwich, this ticketed event takes place in the basement of the 90-plus-year-old Dakota Inn on John R. Tickets, available through a link on the Detroit Sandwich Party Instagram page, are $65 each. They include access to the sandwich, sides and two drinks. A cash bar is available.
- Rocco’s Italian Deli, 3627 Cass Ave., Detroit, noon, Dec. 29. This Midtown deli is known not only for deli sandwiches, but cocktails, specialty wines, cured meats, cheeses and olives.
- Tall Trees Café, 817 Livernois, Ferndale, noon Dec. 30. Tall Trees Café is a sandwich shop and lunch counter.
- Batch Brewing, 1400 Porter Street. On Dec. 30, a sandwich party starts at 6 p.m., and there’s a raffle with merch, gift cards and other items at 7 p.m. at the Corktown brewery.
Aside from the above specific events, places like Bev’s Bagels in Detroit’s Core City, Gonella’s in southwest Detroit, Last Chance Saloon and Pietrzyk Pierogi are participating with special sandwiches during the week.
Parisi also founded Detroit Sandwich Party, which once again drew thousands for last September’s event, its second, at Eastern Market. The sandwich festival is taking place again this year at Eastern Market and pays homage to the humble sandwich, featuring lots and lots of sandwiches, plus music and drinks. Parisi said he expects the event to be bigger this year.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for insider scoops on food and dining in metro Detroit.
But as you can see below, Holmes has been an extremely popular figure among Detroit sports fans for pretty much his entire career.
Although, if there was a time when Holmes’ popularity took a hit, it was likely during the 2025 NFL season, when the Lions took their first clear step back since he and Dan Campbell came to town.
Since last year’s data was lost to time, this is a good opportunity to check back in with Lions fans. While Holmes certainly deserves a ton of credit for getting the Lions back to relevancy and helping them produce four consecutive seasons with winning records, there are some serious blemishes on his resumé now. The 2024 NFL Draft class has not lived up to his high standards through two seasons, some of his riskiest picks over the last few years have all failed to pay off, and last year’s roster just wasn’t good enough to withstand the injuries.
But Holmes is also coming off a very crowd-pleasing draft. Detroit addressed their two biggest needs with their first two selections, and there were no crazy head-scratching picks or expensive trade ups. Many have categorized his latest draft as “back to business as usual,” which could have some fans he lost back on his side.
However, that is all up to you. Vote on your thoughts about Holmes’ time in Detroit below, and share your extended thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
Dan Gilbert paid for an army of Cleveland Cavaliers fans to take over Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena for Game 2 of the NBA playoffs against the rival Detroit Pistons.
Gilbert, the longtime Cavs owner who has founded several Detroit-based companies and owns much of the real estate in downtown Detroit, sent seven bus loads of Cavs season ticket holders up I-75 North on Thursday, May 7, to wear maroon and gold shirts that read “BEAT DETROIT!”
Coworkers Rick Amador, 46, of Lorain, Ohio, and Eric Karr, 24, of Strongsville, Ohio, said they were thankful their trip to the playoffs in Detroit was fully paid for.
“Dan Gilbert fully paid for all of our tickets, paid for the shirts that you see here today,” Amador said. “He paid for the swag and he brought us here, fed us. We had a party at The Beacon [in Detroit, owned by Gilbert]. DJ, food, it was phenomenal.”
[ Pistons vs Cavaliers score updates, Game 2 highlights, commentary ]
Gilbert earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State and a law degree from Wayne State in downtown Detroit.
“I’m just ready to bring a dub home to Cleveland,” Karr said. “It’s been a long time coming. We got lucky with LeBron [James] always coming here and now it’s time for us to build our own future and win our own championship. All of them. Yes, Donovan [Mitchell] has to have his legacy game.”
The Pistons on Tuesday night won Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, 111-101, in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Games 3-4 will be in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon and Monday night.
As for a prediction for the rest of the series?
“Five games, Cavs win it,” Karr said without hesitation.
On the roster: Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum, Derrick Moore, Payton Turner, Tyler Lacy, Tyre West, Ahmed Hassanein
Twentyman: Hutchinson, 25, was named Second-Team All-Pro after setting a new career single-season high in sacks (14.5) while leading the NFL with 100 total pressures. Hutchinson is the first player in franchise history to log multiple 10.0-sack seasons through the first four years of a player’s career. With Al-Quadin Muhammad and his 11.0 sacks last year signing with Tampa Bay in free agency, the Lions needed to find Hutchinson a new running mate on the opposite edge.
Detroit added Wonnum in free agency and Moore in the NFL Draft and like what both bring to the table. It will be interesting to see how their unique skillsets fit in Kelvin Sheppard’s defense. Onwuzurike is a defensive tackle by trade but could also get some run as the big end.
While Detroit’s 49 sacks were the fourth most in the NFL last year, Detroit’s average time to pressure of 2.92 seconds was the slowest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. It wasn’t always the kind of pressure that affected the timing of opponent passing attacks as opposing quarterbacks finished with a 92.5 rating against Detroit’s defense, which ranked 19th.
On roster: Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Jimmy Rolder, Damone Clark, Trevor Nowaske, Joe Bachie
Twentyman: The departure of Alex Anzalone means the Lions will have a new starter at the WILL in 2026. The leading candidate to fill the role is the veteran Rodriguez. Rolder has an interesting skillset, but is he ready to step in right away after playing limited defensive snaps at Michigan? Could the versatile Clark potentially be a fit there too? The competition for the starting WILL spot will be one of the better ones to watch in camp.
It will also be interesting to see how Sheppard might evolve his scheme after an extensive sit-down with head coach Dan Campbell this offseason going through all the cut-ups on defense from last year. Detroit wants to be more adaptable and versatile. Will Barnes’ SAM role change at all within the defense? Will a team that played the most base defense of any team in the NFL last year play more nickel?
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