The Sterling Heights Planning Commission reviewed an application for a new dine-in and carryout restaurant called Justin Jacob Cafe at 35970 Dequindre Road. The restaurant plans to occupy the 1,100-square-foot vacant unit in Oak Crest Plaza, east of Dequindre Road, between Metro Parkway and Fifteen Mile Road.
Application materials indicate the cafe’s owner is Jacob Ankawi, who previously owned and operated Motown Cafe in Detroit. The new restaurant will serve pizza, wings and ice cream and will open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Ankawi wrote in the application that the cafe’s menu will have many similar items compared to the old Motown menu with the addition of pizzas while removing appetizers, burgers, and seafood platters.
Based on the floor plan, the cafe will have two benches and 18 stools for the dining area. The floor plan also features an open pizza kitchen surrounded by an L-shaped service counter with an ice cream machine, a prep table and a deli counter.
Ankawi told What Now Detroit that the cafe would be a joint effort with his son, Justin Ankawi, who owns the Justin Jacob Salon right next door. The father-and-son team hopes to open in July or August.
