DETROIT – A new pizzeria is opening Friday in a redeveloped commercial space in Northwest Detroit as part of an effort to bring new life to the community.
A $1.3 million project transformed an abandoned commercial building on West McNichols Road near Livernois into the new Detroit Pizza Bar, which officially opens Friday from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. The project, funded by the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, has reportedly created 20 jobs and plans to create dozens more.
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“When developing in corridors like Livernois-Six Mile that have traditionally struggled to get funding for projects, the Strategic Neighborhood Fund has become an indispensable resource, because they allow both the redevelopment and the stabilization of long-forgotten commercial thoroughfares,” said Marcus Jones, co-owner of the Detroit Pizza Bar. “The SNF has helped my partner Akunna Olumba and I not only open our business but help make a difference on this stretch of McNichols.”
The Black-owned restaurant reportedly plans to work as closely with the community as possible, from their staff to where they source their ingredients. Officials say the restaurant will support local farmers, and of the staff already hired, all of them are Detroit-area residents with 97% of them living within a two-mile radius of the pizzeria.
The full-service restaurant will also open up its rooftop terrace space to patrons once the weather gets warmer.
Learn more about the redevelopment project here.
Related: Work begins to transform Detroit’s United Artists Theater building into mixed-income housing