New Restaurants Are Popping up All Over Detroit, but What About the Ones That Have Been Around for Decades?

Detroit News reporter Melody Baetens checks in with the city’s old school joints as new restaurants dominate the headlines.

Mario's Restaurant

Melody Baetens/ Detroit News

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Over the past five years, there’s been a wave of new restaurants opening in Detroit and throughout the metro area.

But where does that leave legacy restaurants that have spent decades building a costumer base that is often siphoned off to the new kid on the block? 

WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper speaks with Detroit News features reporter Melody Baetens about old-school restaurants and how they’re making it work in Metro Detroit’s rapidly changing dining climate. 

Baetens says that constantly writing about all the new eateries opening up got her thinking about the spots that have been around for decades. 

Baetens spoke with the owners of places such as The Whitney and Mario’s to see how business is going.

“I found very different answers,” she says. 

 

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper inside the WDET studio.
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.