Second Takes
Keeping a Neighborhood Gem’s Legacy Alive
WHEN A YOUNG woman told the new owners of Sprout House in Grosse Pointe Park that they not only kept the integrity of the little corner market, but they made it even better, it was music to their ears.
“That’s exactly what our intention was,” says Lisa Brancato, who with close friend Ann Delisi made the bold move to purchase the business last year. “It was a total career change for me and added another thing to Ann Delisi’s already full plate.”
“I’m loving every second of it,” says Delisi.
“We both are,” agrees Brancato.
“We’re equally excited and freaked out about being small-business owners,” adds Delisi with a laugh.
The two met at WDET, Detroit’s public radio station, where Delisi still dominates weekend airtime, including a show with Don Was on Friday nights, and Brancato is the former director of strategic partnership. They say they’ve transferred their energy from working together on DET’s “Essential Cooking” program and events into their new collaboration.
“Little did we know we were laying the groundwork for what we do here,” says Delisi.
Brancato is the one who spotted the succinct ad in her local newspaper: Health food store for sale and a phone number. She knew the nearby market, popular for its scratch-made vegan and vegetarian dishes and grocery staples. What she didn’t know yet was the emotional connection so many feel to the corner store that turns 40 in August.
“It’s an honor to be one of the stewards of this little place, to carry on its legacy for a while,” says Delisi. They are the business’s fourth owners. “We’re just getting started.”
Part of that stewardship is maintaining what people know and love about the place. For many, that means the prepared soups.
“The recipes came with the sale,” says Delisi. They make some more frequently—Thai Peanut and Tarragon Split Pea, for instance—because they’re among the favorites. Delisi added an Ethiopian Red Lentil to the lineup of more than two dozen soups they rotate. “I’m really gratified that people like it.”
Other favorites include their popular Southwest Avocado Sandwich— “probably the most distinctive sandwich we make. People love it,” Brancato says—and the Vegan Chocolate Cake. For non-vegans, popular sandwiches are the smoked salmon and tuna salad, among others, and for dessert, the rice pudding, all house-made.
Sprout House also makes fresh juices, and carries a selection of groceries, including organic produce, Michiganmade cheeses, eggs, gluten-free options, pantry staples and snacks.
In addition to eye-catching window designs by local artist Nicole Kristich and fresh paint throughout, the changes they have made are focused on adding products by Detroit and Michigan makers to store shelves, including veteran-owned businesses Aza Hibiscus Tea; Pingree Detroit and Grand Traverse Sauce Co. hot sauces, chili-infused honey and drink mixes. They’ve also added High 5 Salts and, most recently, baked goods from Rose’s Fine Foods & Wine in Detroit.
They also intend to take part in more neighborhood activities, plus host events.
“Stay tuned,” says Brancato.
Sprout House
15233 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Park
313-331-3200 | sprouthousemarket.com
Avalon Adapts with a New Era of Collaborations
IF THE RECENTLY installed counter inside Detroit’s Jolly Pumpkin leaves you with a sense of déjà vu, you might be recalling its days at the Willis Street bakery and café of Avalon International Bread. It’s just the beginning of familiar faces and familiar pastries.
In January, Avalon tempered news of the closing of its flagship location after 25 years by announcing that they would reopen as Avalon Canfield within the midtown gastropub an alley away, emphasizing a new era of Avalon collaboration.
“It was time to adapt,” says Bekah Galang, retail director for Avalon, explaining that the plan is for the iconic bakery to open at 7 a.m. and the space to transition into Jolly Pumpkin as the day progresses into night, though visitors can expect to find a few Avalon options on the bar menu too, she says.
“We’re trying to start as simple as possible,” says Galang. “I know for a fact that we’re going to have the favorite vegan muffins and favorite cookies.”
Avalon’s baked goods will be made at their bakehouse and delivered to wholesale customers, as well as Avalon Woodward and Avalon Ann Arbor Cafe + Kitchen, and new market cafés within Meijer Rivertown in Detroit and Meijer Woodward Corner Market in Royal Oak, which both of which Avalon came aboard late last autumn.
“We really like what the Meijer markets are doing, making Michigan-based food accessible to Detroiters and Metro Detroiters,” says Galang.
The cafés have a biscuit bar, and offer sandwiches, grab and go eats, plus carry pastries and breads, as well as Avalon’s Mighty Good coffee blends. Avalon paused production to restructure their bakehouse as they moved out of Willis Street. During the transition, they partnered with other bakeries that either don’t have storefronts or are farther out in Southeastern Michigan, says Galang, adding that Avalon expects to continue a kind of “baker’s market” format.
Avalon also added ovens to the market cafés, so customers can get fresh-baked muffins and scones every morning.
“You’ll be able to get warm sea salt chocolate chip cookies while you’re shopping,” says Galang, adding that customers can expect to find a few new products, just released.
“We’re really excited. We’re doing a double-chocolate chocolate-chip sea salt cookie, all plant-based. We’ve been working on different recipes. I was able to taste them and they are very good!”
“We’re hoping to see a lot of familiar faces,” she says.
Avalon International Bread
To learn more about Avalon and its multiple cafés, go to Avalonbreads.net.
Harbor Light Shines Even Brighter
THE SALVATION ARMY of Detroit’s $1.5 million expansion and renovation of its Detroit Harbor Light Community Kitchen began with a potato peeler.
The donated oversized commercial-grade machine that can peel 50 pounds of potatoes in three minutes couldn’t just go anywhere. It needs to be secured to the floor. Soon Chef Michael Block and the Salvation Army’s Detroit Harbor Light administration began thinking, then planning and eventually raising funds.
On a snowy morning in late January, Block joined others at the Salvation Army to cut the ribbon in celebration of the kitchen’s completed renovation. Its doubled size can now accommodate up to 20 volunteers with a modernized, brightened workspace that promises to better enable the Salvation Army to do “the most good for the most people by serving the most need” in Metro Detroit, says Lt. Col. John Turner, Great Lakes Division commander.
“This kitchen is essential to providing food to Metro Detroiters every day of the year,” says Turner, calling the space a result of community partnerships. “With the recent expansion and renovation, we hope to reach more people, feed more families.”
The space provides food for clients at Harbor Light’s family emergency center, substance use disorder treatment center and elsewhere, including the Salvation Army’s three Bed & Bread trucks, which make 60 stops daily across Metro Detroit. Last year Harbor Light served an average of 3,500 meals daily, totaling more than 1.3 million meals.
“This is something we have been dreaming about for a long, long time,” says Jamie Winkler, Harbor Light’s executive director. He credits Block as the force behind the expansion, which includes greater freezer and refrigeration space and additional pieces of commercialgrade equipment, including the peeler, an almost five-foot-tall Hobart commercial floor mixer and a five-gallon commercial-grade food processor.
Block approached Make Food Not Waste in May to recruit their help to make it more of a community kitchen. The new space emphasizes a fresh commitment to community partnerships, from corporate and organizational volunteers to hosting guest chefs and being better prepared to accept surplus from MFNW and food banks such as Gleaners, as well as donations, ensuring food gets prepared into hot, nutritious meals to feed the up to 12,000 unhoused people in Detroit, rather than going to waste in landfills.
The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit
SAmetrodetroit.org
