Michigan & Trumbull closed the doors of its Corktown pizzeria for good Saturday.
But the beloved restaurant known for its Detroit-style deep dishes and roasted veggies won’t be gone for long and is not going anywhere far.
Michigan & Trumbull is relocating to a new location at 1331 Holden St. in the heart of Detroit’s Elijah McCoy neck of the woods this fall.
Owners confirmed the move, which will pit their pizza shop on the ground floor of the newly minted Dreamtroit mixed-used development. The $30-million bohemian-themed project aimed at bringing more affordable housing to city artists is set to debut in July, according to nonprofit real estate consultant Illinois Facilities Fund.
“We’re super excited about that development in general,” co-founding owner Kristen Calverley told What Now Detroit. “We love the Dreamtroit vision. Detroit has always been home to these amazing artists and musicians. And they’re really trying to attract those type of creatives by offering affordable housing but also creating lived work spaces where the artists can not only live and create, but also sell what they create. So as a community, I just think it’s something that we’re excited about being a part of.”
Calverley and her husband Nate Peck, both South Michigan natives, began serving up Detroit-style pizzas when they moved to Pittsburgh and realized they couldn’t get a taste of the square-shaped pies anywhere.
“It’s not until you move outside of Detroit that you realize how regionally specific it is,” Calverley said with a chuckle. “It kind of started out as something we were doing for ourselves at home and then it evolved.”
They named their restaurant after the famous intersection that once served as home base for the fabled Tiger Stadium. Several of the pizzas on the menu are also odes to Detroit, named after busy streets around town.
After returning to the Motor City, the couple opened a Michigan & Trumbull in January 2020 at 1441 W. Elizabeth St., within steps of the actual intersection from which the pizzeria derived its moniker.
The partnership with Dreamtroit came about by chance. Calverley and Peck’s lease in Corktown was running out and they were looking for a new site while the megadevelopment was recruiting a food a beverage tenant. A mutual friend connected the restaurant owners with the team behind Dreamtroit and they reached a deal.
“The timeline of their project almost matched exactly the timeline of ours,” Calverley said.
Michigan & Trumbull’s new facility has been under construction since March. It will feature more parking, outdoor eating space and an expanded kitchen more equipped to accommodate both the take-out and dine-in sides of the business.
The relocation will also come with expanded hours. Calverley said they plan to open their doors earlier and close about an hour later each day.
The team is still moving equipment out of the Corktown eatery into its new space. While that site’s under construction, Michigan & Trumbull will be setting up shop at Woodward Avenue Brewers. Calverley worked at the Ferndale brewpub at 22646 Woodward Ave. in the early 2000s and when the owner caught wind of Michigan & Trumbull’s temporarily closing, he offered to let her and Peck use his kitchen.
“We’re really excited, I think that we will maybe introduce ourselves to some people who don’t venture to Detroit,” Calverley said.
WAB has hired Michigan & Trumbull’s front-of-house staff and they’ll begin serving out of the pub before the weekend of the Pig & Whiskey festival in downtown Ferndale, which kicks off July 14, according to The Detroit News.
They will boast a menu of round pizzas because there’s not equipment at WAB to cook the square Detroit-style variety.
Owners indicated they are determined to be successful once they christen their new spot.
“I know this is all really unconventional; how often do you hear about a business that’s had as many addresses as we have,” Calverley said. “But the only people that fail are the people that quit. I feel like we’re not going to quit. So even if it’s not a conventional path, we’re just going to keep going to make sure we keep this alive for ourselves and for our kids.”
