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Ciao says it Will Reopen, New Nightclub, Possible Martini Bar Coming to West Dearborn

With the Village Picture Frame and Art Gallery moving from its location on Monroe west two blocks to a new home on Michigan Avenue, we thought it was a good time to provide a brief update on other businesses opening, reopening or just plain stalled in downtown west Dearborn.

ciaoLet’s start with Ristorante Ciao. Closed since an April fire hit the popular Italian eatery, the restaurant’s owners told us this week that they plan to reopen this year. However, it may not reopen in the current location but in a new building located in west Dearborn. Challenges apparently remain over whose insurance company should cover damages to the building, the restaurant owner or the building landlord. Whatever the matter, we just hope they reopen soon. It has always been one of our favorite Italian restaurants in town.

 

Bora Bora Restaurant NightclubSay goodbye to Parisian Bistro and hello to Bora Bora. The new restaurant and nightclub could open as early as Nov. 1, according to banners hanging outside the building that once housed the Salad Bar restaurant. The Dearborn location would be the second restaurant for this family-owned establishment. The first Bora Bora opened in Novi about two years ago and has been a huge success in that city. The owners tell us the restaurant/bar will be open for lunch and dinner beginning at 11 a.m. daily. On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, the restaurant will feature a more nightclub atmosphere. We welcome the new restaurant to the neighborhood and wish them the best of luck.

A new martini bar also is said to be moving into the location that once housed Caribou Coffee in the West Village Commons development on Michigan Avenue. We don’t have full details yet, but the bar would join The Well pub and La Cigar in the Burton-Katzman project.

Finally, we have received dozens of emails asking for the outcome on the bench trial to settle a dispute between Caliente Grille restaurant co-owner Jeremy Sutton and Gateway Plaza developer Hakim Fakhoury. Dozens of hours of testimony have taken place so far over a period of nearly three months but there still is no resolution. We ran into Dearborn 19th District Court Judge Mark Somers the other day, who is hearing the case, and he tells us the trial will continue into November. In addition to this trial, Judge Somers has a full docket of other cases he must handle on a daily basis. Fakhoury is trying to evict the restaurant and its owners, claiming they failed to move forward with their restaurant. Sutton is countersuing, claiming breach of contract. The restaurant is located at Michigan and Military.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 7:09 am and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • becki kain

    What else is moving into the building at Michigan and Military ?

  • Old All Day School Mom

    Does Hakim Fakhoury actually own these buildings and land (i.e. Ciao Restaurant, Caliente, Buffalo Wild Wings, et al) or is he managing the properties for the owners?

  • Donna Hay

    I think that the building and land belonged to Hakim. It’s nice to see something going into the vacant buildings but how many more bars and restaurants can this city support?

  • Bill

    Not to get too off track with the subject matter, but what is going with the construction at Michigan Ave. and Bailey?

  • http://www.networkdearborn.com Dave Bowman

    Donna, I was wondering the same thing.

  • Darren

    So Ciao has a good chance of reopening, but in a different West Dearborn location? Hmm, where? What a gem of a restaurant. I look forward to it coming back some day.

    Bora Bora? That block will quickly be known as “Bar Row”. Bailey’s, Howell’s, The Post, Double Olive, etc. I have to agree with you Donna. Just how many bars (and restaurants) can be supported? At least its progress and and better than empty buildings.

  • Old All Day School Mom

    Maybe if we all get drunk enough we’ll forget to feed the meters and help turn the unattended paid parking lots into a gold mine for the city instead of a liability.

  • 20-J

    Actually with that many bars all along the Michigan Avenue strip, the logical thing to do would be to spend the stimulus money to build a Navy Base on Newman street. You know how sailors love to drink…………….

  • rami

    Talked to Hakim today, and he said, everything is proceeding well, and he is sure that Judge Somers will take care of everything properly.

  • MyTwoSenseToo

    I think we should pressure City Council to envoke a moretorium (more than a year) on new bars and restaurants in west Dearborn. Or how about an ordinance limiting the number or bars and restaurants in a neighborhood. I can’t wait for City Council to be barraged with neighborhood concerns such as noise, vandalism and the too much to drink vomiting on cars complaints.

  • http://kiernanforcouncil.com patrick m. kiernan

    Donna is right! You just CAN NOT keep letting more of the same on the Mich. Ave. strip. I am not saying this because it involves my restaurant and bar, but the bars and restaurants here now are screeming for more and more customers. Adding more into the mix here will mean that others will fail. So you may have a new bar filling a vacant building, but I will bet alot of money on the new business that opens or one that is barely staying open will be closed within a year. Now you have another vacant building. We need to figure out a way to get some unique shopping in this area. How do we do that? Maybe get the building owners to offer some kind of discount on a lease for the first year. Maybe a tax break for a new business just as long it is not in direct competition with a business that is already here. I can say that letting more and more of the same open up along the strip may fill a void for a short time period, but in the long run it will put others in jeopardy!
    Have a great day everyone and make sure to get out and VOTE! It takes only 15 minutes!

  • Lauren

    On a semi-related note:
    Anyone know if Salad Wrappers is still planning on coming back? I think they had a fire…I feel bad for never going there, and wish I could now.

  • Donna Hay

    Pat you are so right about the need for attracting new businesses in the area. LuLu By Design has been on Monroe for sometime now and has survived – maybe the ‘powers that be’ should sit down and have a nice long talk with him about how he is staying in business.

    I would also like to urge everyone to get out and vote – its the only way we can begin to make some changes in this city.

  • Thomas

    Speaking of development and new business, I see the old gas station at Military and Cherry Hill is finally being torn down–I presume to make way for the planned medical facility.

  • MyTwoSenseToo

    Does anyone know if Mr. Sayed is related to Hakim Fakhoury?

  • Mr Reality

    The days of the mom-and-pop business are gone. Unless you have a nitch that no one else can fill, you are wasting your time and money. People buy their stuff at Wal-mart or Target now. Adding more bars and restaurant will only make Dearborn more attractive as a destination for happy hour, dinner and nightlife. It’s the 21-40 year olds that spend money on food and entertainment. That’s a fact that advertisers and business owners know. Having a variety of choices for where to have dinner or hang out only makes West Dearborn better. Caliente would be a good addition. Ciao was one of my favorites and did well because it was good.

  • http://twitter.com/lmichael36 YoungGibraltar

    Mr Reality is right, I would not go to Dearborn to “shop” but I would go there to hang out for the night, in fact I have.

  • corner store

    I was very happly this morning when Charlie (my dog) and I walked past the old Venue and saw a sign in the window “Coming Soon Tasten More????? Restaurant & Lounge”.

    My happiness was short lived however when on my way home from work I saw the signs plastered in Blockbuster Video’s windows “Everything Must GO”,
    “Visit our store on Telegraph”.

    Damn it!

  • http://kiernanforcouncil.com Patick M. Kiernan

    Mr. reality,
    Ciao was down %40 in their business. If they reopen, i only wish the best for them. But if you think letting more and more bars and restaurants keep opening as a solution to the vacant buildings is a answer, your wrong.
    Yes my business is down just like everyone else. We will get by as we always do. If more bars keep coming in, I know some will fail and others may close. If you would like to talk about this in person you know where I work. I am there almost every night. And everyone does not shop at Wal-Mart or Target. I wont spend a dime at either of them. But what do I know? We have only been at that location of monroe and mich. ave. for over 44 years.
    As for the Venue location. This new place called Tasten More?
    This will be what, the 5th. or 6th restaurant in the last 10-15 years to try and make a go at it in that location. I wish them the best, but i sure wouldn’t invest any money in it.
    Have a good day and make sure and VOTE!!

  • http://n/A Billbo Baggins

    The area need to follow this direction: The bars and restaurants WILL revitalize the area. Royal Oak, Ferndale are all cities that jumpstarted from…. yes you guessed correct, BARS AND RESTAURANTS!!! People dont go to royal oak or ferndale to shop. they go to eat, relax, and drink, and dance, and socialize. These cities thrive because of the bars and restaurants that draw people. When I think Dearborn for shopping, I think of Fairlane mall with its roaming gangs of teens, and curfew announcements over the public addressing system. Dearborn=Shopping? NO WAY! Dearborn=Social Destination for the 20 to 45 set? YES WAY!
    I say bring more into the city Dearborn City Council! Dont let these old people slow progress down!!!

  • http://kiernanforcouncil.com patrick m. kiernan

    Unless the information I was told is wrong, Royal Oak will not let any new liquor licenses open up along their strip. So the only way to get a bar or restaurant there would be to buy one that already exists.
    From Brady to Military we have around 17 liquor licenses in operation or soon to be in operation. During the week most are very slow and the weekends are good for some not so good for others.
    The “Dearborn being another Royal Oak” is not happening. We have been trying to do it for the last 9 or so years. Believe me, I know. We have alot invested here ourselves. How many more years and how many more liquor licenses do we need to bring into this 3/4 mile strip to realize it will not happen.
    How many more bars need to open and close to figure this out. I hear talk about a couple of the bars that are here now wanting to sell or not wanting to renew their lease.
    I am not trying to slow progress. I have more invested here than most! I wish it would take off. At what expence and how long do we need to give this? Don’t you think 17 is enough?

  • Mr Reality

    Mr Kiernan,
    Like eveything else, businesses have to change with the times. Society changes and social habits change. Where are all the diners serving meatloaf and mashed potatoes? Adding Silky’s to your place was obviously a move to address the need for change. Unfortunatley, the development of West Dearborn into an entertainment destination has been stalled by the economy, but it has improved in those 9 years. Our friends no longer feel the need to go to Royal Oak for the evening, but can stay in Dearborn for our choice of food, beverages and sometimes coffee afterwards (sorry Little Cafe). The restaurants that endure are the ones that evolve with society. It’s unfortunate to say, but I think steakhouses are going the way of the diner…bye bye Mountain Jack’s, Montana’s, Longhorn…

  • Ahoy Hoy..

    …..Steak and Ale……

  • Ahoy Hoy..

    ….Applegate’s……

  • http://n/A Billbo Baggins

    BREAKING NEWS!!!! CIAO Owners are currently in negotiations with NUEMAN for the long time closed post office building next to the west parking structure. Lets hope this happens. This is a great location for them to reopen in.

  • Paul Mastrogiacomo

    You cannot have a successful downtown based on bars and restaurants alone.

    I guess you don’t really remember how Royal Oak once was. There was more retail but the bars priced out the shops. Even today there’s still some retail off of Main St. and on Washington. There’s also a good amount of occupied office space to make the place active all day.

    Ann Arbor also has a good mixture of some retail and a lot of office space downtown. Plymouth is the same mixture of retail and restaurants. Yes big box shopping has changed things but there’s still room for small independents. It works in plenty of other places. That kind of environment then draws in the national retail like H&M, Apple, American Apparel and on and on.

    It really is the attitude of people here in Dearborn and SE Michigan in general that dooms local retail to failure. Mom and pop shops succeed in nearly every other city despite the onslaught of big box retail. It’s been years of bad planning and continued bad planning on the part of our civic leaders and a very provincial backwater attitude of the residents that causes the same thing that succeeds elsewhere to fail here.

  • dozin

    Just came across this site. Sorry, I’m not familar with Mr. Deep, however, 44 years in Dearborn qualifies me as a participant here.

    I will post again, due to time constraints, I will post briefly now and address some of what has been said recently.

    Facts: Chelis is for sale
    Double Olive is for sale
    Baileys is for sale

    Ciao’s fire is suspect, as was the Cigar on Michigan Ave and Wrapper…wonder where the next torch will land…

    The Double Olive is a cesspool of miscreants no city, especially Dearborn needs.

    Once and for all: Dearborn is not Royal Oak, it is not Ann Arbor…R.O. does not have a major thoroughfare plowing down it’s center 24/7. Nor does W. Dearborn have a major university within it’s boundry.

    What DOES contribute to both of these city’s success is the density of the population in the surrounding neighborhoods. Translation: apartments, high-rise condos, townhouses, etc.

    You want to support an entertainment “district,” you must be able to do it with local patrons…the out-of-towners are simply bonus. To do that, I say level the land between Michigan Avenue north to Ford Field and east-to-west from Andiamos to Military.

    That’s right, with the exception of the Uznis townhomes and a few select apt buildings and condos, get rid of the single-family homes and create a “district” of higher density wherein residents can walk safely to the “17″ venues (bad choice of words) on the “strip.”

    Someone please tell me one store (besides Lulu) in which one of you/us shops within that “strip.” Looks like the framing shop alongside Ciao finally closed his doors.

    If not for the hair salons, there is no “retail.” There never will be.

    If a site-planner for say, Crate and Barrel is looking at a list of available cities nationwide, and he/she comes across Dearborn as a potential site, what do you think will resonate in his mind? Hmmm.

    It begs the question as to what image our city projects on a regional, national, and INTERnational level. If the implications here threaten anyone as racist, forgive me, that is not my intent, but the reality is sobering.

    If nothing else, the city will continue to gain revenue from the fines collected for DUI’s and public urination brought about by the great collection of “17″ we have so far…watch where you step in the parking lots…

    Back again soon…