Detroit Fleat
On a warm evening in metro Detroit, the vibe at Detroit Fleat on 9 Mile Road in Ferndale is positively exuberant. Groups of young hipsters sporting all manner of mustaches, young couples toting babies in strollers and canine companions of all breeds and sizes (this is a dog-friendly zone) enjoy the company, warm breezes, food and drink at picnic tables sheltered beneath bright red and blue shade umbrellas.
The patrons munch on fare from the house menu, including tacos, sliders and custom fries, or from one of the permanent food trucks, including Delectabowl’s layered veggie-and-meat bowl creations, The Pita Post’s sandwiches or Mac Shack’s mac & cheese with toppings. And they sip on local craft beers from 16 taps that are switched out frequently or from canned beers, craft cocktails, wine or Detroit Fleat’s signature Slooshie—imagine a 7-Eleven Slurpee with a kick—that changes every couple of weeks.
Unlike the Slurpee, the Slooshie is not self-serve, for obvious reasons. But just about everything else is come-and-go as you please at Detroit Fleat, and that’s intentional.
“You come in, you can sit down right away and then we have servers designated to all the tables. They come up, grab you anything from the bar, or anything from the house menu, then they kinda just let you go up the trucks, because the trucks are completely selfserve,” says Detroit Fleat co-founder Katie Picard. “So you go up to the trucks, you pay, you grab your food and then you come back and you sit down.”
It’s all about creating a relaxed vibe that celebrates local foodcrafting ingenuity in a lighthearted, fun-focused setting.
“We wanted to showcase the success of all of these food trucks who made their name in Detroit, and we just really wanted it to feel fun and exciting and colorful,” says Picard, who launched Delectabowl and then Detroit Fleat with her childhood friend Aaron Tye.
The pair renovated the building of a former Chinese restaurant on an industrial section of Nine Mile, about one mile east of downtown Ferndale, in 2017. The spot is close enough to the dense residential neighborhoods of Ferndale and Hazel Park to garner substantial foot traffic, and ample parking is available for those who come from farther afield. The location is also accessible by public transit, and bike lanes along Nine Mile Road facilitate pedal-powered access.
Garage doors cut into the walls of the building were a key part of the design, according to Picard. “The openness of it, that was our inspiration,” she says.
The vibe is playful, featuring an array of board games, Taco Tuesdays, live music on Fridays and a rotating cast of guest food trucks which add variety to an already diverse menu on Thursdays through Sundays.
The patio is the main focus of fun for the warmer months, with each Saturday featuring a different event. On the first Saturday of the month, Detroit Fleat hosts a “food truck face-off.”
“Each face-off has a different theme and each food truck does their take on that theme,” says Picard. “Last week we did spicy; so each food truck did their take on spicy food. Then customers buy a ticket from servers, and they can go and get a sample from each one of the trucks and then vote on who they think won that face-off. The food trucks get super-competitive about it. “
The second Saturday of the month is “Slooshie Saturday,” where the bar moves outside and six different Slooshies are on the menu. “We want it to feel like island patio fun,” says Picard.
Third Saturdays feature a Disco Brunch with a deejay, and fourth Saturdays feature a Food Truck rally with additional food trucks. So far, the good food, plentiful beverage options and fun atmosphere have proven a winning formula for Detroit Fleat.
“We’re really fortunate ... the concept was new and exciting. People coming in wasn’t an issue,” says Picard. “It’s a total mix of generations. I think it is because of that variety. Usually the biggest issue when you go out to eat is, like, ‘What do you want to eat? What do you want to eat? Oh, I don’t want Thai. I don’t want this, I don’t want that.’ OK, come here and you have five different options that you can choose from.”
The concept of a stationary food truck business is not without precedent. Food truck “pods” have thrived for years in places like hipster-haven Portland, Oregon, where the idea was pioneered. And Mark’s Carts, an outdoor-only food truck court, had a solid sevenyear run in Ann Arbor before closing in 2017. A similar concept has been established for two years in Traverse City.
But a food truck court combined with a full bar and year-round restaurant is a novel concept in metro Detroit. For Picard, Ferndale was an obvious choice to launch the business. “Unique, new, interesting concepts just fit well in Ferndale,” she says. “And Detroit Fleat is certainly a different concept.”
Learn more at DetroitFleat
