Chain Restaurants Are Popping Up All Over Downtown Detroit

Chains are bringing new options to the table.

Wahlburgers

Jake Neher/WDET

It was only a matter of time before the chain restaurant renaissance took hold in Detroit, says Metro Times Dining Editor Serena Maria Daniels. Wahlburgers and Calexico recently opened in the downtown area, and will be followed by Shake Shack next year, she says.

Wahlburgers uses the name recognition from actor Mark Wahlburg, but has fun with it, she says. Calexico began as a California-Mexican food cart in Brooklyn. The Detroit location is their first outside of New York. Shake Shack is already receiving buzz from the popularity of its burgers and shakes, says Daniels.

“It’s got the hype but it also lives up to it,” says Daniels.

Another food with a fair amount of hype is the “Whopperito,” says Daniels, who recently wrote about Burger King’s latest concoction for the Metro Times. The contents of a Whopper hamburger wrapped in a tortilla, Daniels says, is a textbook “viral food.” The probable draw for consumers is the possibility of a good Instagram photo and bragging rights that they’ve tried it, she says.

“I follow a ton of foodies on Instagram and everywhere they go… It doesn’t matter what it is, they go all out and they take pictures of (their food),” says Daniels.

If you’ve got an appetite for more restaurant conversation, click on the audio player above.

 

Jake Neher/WDET

 

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