Detroit Evening Report: Detroit Soul restaurant opens second location with Motor City Match assistance

Motor City Match marks its 142nd brick-and-mortar business in the City of Detroit.

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Detroit Soul, a farm-to-table soul food restaurant, opened its second location this week in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and city leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the accomplishment.

“We were here just a couple of months ago with an apartment building that has been closed for a decade, and it’s been renovated and filled,” Duggan said. “We’re going to have another apartment building filled across the street so for Jerome and Sam you’re going to have more customers.”

The new location is in the historic Kresge Building Department store on Jefferson, giving a nostalgic feel for older patrons and history buffs.

Detroit Soul received a $60,000 cash grant from the 18th round of the Motor City Match program. The funding gave owners Samuel Van Buren and Jerome Brown the assistance they needed to renovate their business.

“A year ago when we planned to open another Detroit Soul, the cost of materials and supplies were not what they are now, and so we had a gap,” Brown told Fox 2.

Motor City Match is now accepting applications for its Round 22 awards through Jan. 15, 2023. More information can be found at apply.motorcitymatch.com/submit.

Program officials will also host informational sessions for interested applicants in the coming weeks.

Other headlines for Dec. 15, 2022:

• Detroit police expanding crisis intervention team
• American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeast Michigan hosting community sweat lodge ceremony
• Detroit-inspired “Motown Nutcracker” opens at the Music Hall this weekend