Acclaimed Detroit diner plots a comeback: Rose's Fine Foods to reopen this spring Two years after closing Rose's Fine Foods and Wine, owner and co-founder Molly Mitchell has decided to reopen her flowery restaurant on Detroit's east side this spring. Mitchell says she plans to serve breakfast and lunch — including a lot of the farm-fresh dishes, pastries and breads that customers craved — and is hoping to be able to offer the space at night to aspiring restaurant owners and pop-up chefs for residencies. Mitchell opened Rose's Fine Foods with her cousin Lucy Carnaghi in 2014. It received much buzz locally and nationally, including mentions in the New York Times, Washington Post and Bon Appetit magazine, which called it the "ideal" diner. A lot of the media attention focused on the pioneering efforts of the owners to pay their staff a living wage and share the tips among front- and back-of-house workers. Rose's went up for sale in 2022, asking $600,000 for the building, furnishings, equipment and liquor license. The right buyer was never found, though, and Mitchell kept running it until 2023. "In '23 when I closed, it was really the confluence of all these different things that were happening. Part of it was the economics of it. We weren't making a profit, but that was kind of the least of the reasons. It was more that after pivoting from the pandemic over and over ... I realized it was the most exhausted and depleted I've ever been, which is saying a lot as a restaurant owner," she told The Detroit News. The chef and business owner said Rose's was reaching its 10-year anniversary and she didn't want the next decade to be a similar struggle. Taking a step back and doing other things, particularly food education and collaborations, was the right move for her at that time. She's hoping to reopen Rose's by the end of May, not only to get back into it, but to also capture some of those spring and summer ingredients that are starting to pop up. "Detroit summer produce is unparalleled," she said, adding that the menu will be straightforward diner cuisine with a focus on fresh, seasonal homemade food. For the past several months, Mitchell had been working with her community in a different capacity, as associate director of culinary arts for the Downtown Boxing Gym. Mitchell was cooking for and with the kids in the program, who are ages 8-18. Much more than a gym, the DBG is working toward a "closed-loop food system," which means the food they use is from their on-site chickens, gardens and beehives. "I loved working there ... they help so many kids and families," she said. As she was working at the DBG, Mitchell was also doing catering jobs and had use for Rose's kitchen space. Finally, when the last potential sale fell through in December, she realized she needed to change direction. The chef said she "fell back in love with the building." "I reconnected to what I was actually doing in the first place," Mitchell said. "I started writing a Substack article every week about why I love diners and what diners mean and I'm just like, you know what, I need to reopen this place. There's still so much more life here." Hosting a private birthday party for a friend solidified her decision once she saw the cozy space alive again with food, people and lights. She's also excited to share Rose's with budding small business owners. "In Detroit, we have so many amazing entrepreneurs and people who are working on food businesses ... and we have pop-up spaces and we have restaurants, but we don't really have a space in between. I wanted to provide a space where entrepreneurs can also practice opening their own business," she said. "I also want to do events at the space ... and also bring everything I learned at the Boxing Gym back to Rose's and provide some sort of educational aspect also." Rose's Fine Foods is set to reopen as soon as late May at 10551 E. Jefferson in Detroit. Mitchell plans to do some fundraising events between now and then. Follow the reopening progress on social media at instagram.com/rosesfinefood and facebook.com/rosesfinefood. mbaetens@detroitnews.com This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Acclaimed Detroit diner plots a comeback: Rose's Fine Foods to reopen this spring

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