According to the Michigander newsletter, some major changes are on their way to Pretzel Bell, the resurrected Ann Arbor restaurant at 226 S Main St. The Ann Arbor Historic District Commission (HDC) reviewed and approved plans for a proposed rooftop expansion on April 11, 2024.
According to the design narrative, the project will create “a rooftop dining area, enclosed with planters to provide a buffer between the diners and the roof parapet.” The new rooftop will have its own kitchen and bar while preserving the existing Art Moderne facades and the building’s historic storefront entry.
The expansion will add a 3,000-square-foot rooftop deck with a 1,600-square-foot dining area. According to the submitted drawings, the rooftop will hold approximately 120 seats, although the actual table and seating layout is yet to be determined.
Pretzel Bell was revived in 2016 when a group of business partners took over the longtime restaurant, which had closed. Jon Carlson, Greg Lobdell, and Chet Czaplicka joined forces to breathe new life into the historic building on South Main. Inheriting the Pretzel Bell name, the Ann Arbor restaurant was a new creation that honored the past and has since been serving the community.
Renovation plans for the rooftop expansion were submitted by Hopkins Burns Design Studio, an Ann Arbor-based firm that worked on many historic projects, including the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing. What Now Detroit reached out to Carlson and his team for comments but hadn’t heard back by the time of this coverage.
