Detroit City II: People and (Unique) Places

December 16, 2024

Welcome to part two of my blog posts exploring the wonders of Detroit, Michigan.

In my last post I shared some of my favourite street art & architecture. This post is all about people and some unique places in this great city.

Easy Peasy. A bar that is now open in downtown Detroit.

Alright, lets jump in.

My friend Sammy and I rolled into Detroit early one afternoon in April 2024 with an appetite. Our goal was to have a Coney Island dog or two for lunch.

We parked nearby and noticed someone standing with his bike and holding a camera - two things I love, so naturally I started a conversation.

That's how we met Quinten...

Quinten is one of Detroit's super creative souls. Check his Instagram and see. He knows Toronto too, and talked about some of the cycling routes that he'd like to ride in my home city. I was impressed, and even more so when I saw his photography.

Meeting Quinten was a fantastic kickoff to our trip, but the story gets even better. I'll share more later in this post.

The Coney Island dogs hit the spot.

BTW, there are two Coney Island dog shops in downtown Detroit - Lafayette and American - and both make an appearance in the recent Beverly Hills Cop 4 movie.

After lunch we met Nate and his dog Prince.

Nate was super friendly and happy to talk. Prince was a little unsure and came in for a closer inspection.

Later that same afternoon, while heading to see a cool clothing shop called Xhibition, we noticed two fashionable people walking in the same direction. We all arrived at the store only to find it closed. We started talking, and so got to meet Youana and Brotherly.

Youana and Brotherly are both involved with fashion, and it clearly shows.

After talking for a bit, we exchanged Instagram accounts. (Youana is the owner and creative force behind @cairoscreative and Brotherly is a creative director involved with multiple projects.)

After finding my account Brotherly looked up at me in surprise: "You know Quinten?!!". (Instagram showed that we have one friend in common: Quinten!) I was equally surprised. Meeting three super creative people in one day was great, but finding out that they know each other was rather amazing.

While exploring the epic architecture of Detroit we met Commissioner Tim Killeen of the Wayne County Commission (Tim can actually be seen in my previous Detroit blog post, in very small scale beneath the awning in front of the majestic entrance to the Guardian Building.)

Tim has a long and distinguished career in civil service. He was happy to talk and to have me take his photo.

We got outside of the downtown core for a couple of adventures. One was trying out Vicki's BBQ at 3845 W Warren Ave.

All I can say is wow! The atmosphere in this place was so old school. No tables - just a single bench to sit on while waiting for your food.

The language and salty dialogue between the staff person serving the food and her boss and the customers - it was all very fun.

While waiting for our orders, I had the chance to talk with two older men who had each been coming for many years, if not decades, to Vicki's BBQ. They had lots of good things to say about the place. Vicki's was established in 1964, so they clearly are doing something right.

Yours truly making a complete mess of myself. (No regrets!!)

We had the chance to talk with Randall, the owner of Vicki's BBQ and to take his photo. If you have the chance, give Vicki's BBQ a try!

Later that same day we visited Hitsville, USA - the home of Motown Records original recording studio and now a museum dedicated to sharing the history of all the great music that was produced here.

Before going inside we met King, who was celebrating his birthday.

The tour of the museum was definitely worthwhile. Our guide was very knowledgable and the displays were fun and engaging.

Original recording studio inside of Hitsville, USA.

If you love music, then Hitsville, USA is a must see while in Detroit.

While heading to the final game of the season for the Detroit Pistons, Sammy and I met Phil at the Fox Theatre.

When posing for a photo with Sammy he said "My man with the specs!". What a classy and friendly individual.

Look for "Phil at the Fox" when going to the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Shot on Kodak Double-X 5222 film.

(I wish I had used colour film as Phil's jacket and beret were both a very vibrant red.)

One of the last people we met before heading home was the owner of Taz the Tailor.

Taz the Tailor can make just about any clothing item, but his signature items are shirts and outfits made out of bedsheets. So fun!

We discovered Taz the Tailor while visiting Kitab Cafe, a nearby Arabic cafe and bookstore where we stopped for a tea.

Not too far from Kitab Cafe is Third Man Records, the record shop and studio owned by Jack White. Another place worth seeing while in Detroit.

A view from inside Third Man Records

(Kodak Pro Image 100 film)

Just a few more magical places before I wrap up!

Good food abounds in Detroit and one place we had to try was Mom's Spaghetti, owned by local Detroit rapper Eminem.

(The restaurant name comes from a line in one of his biggest hits "Lose Yourself".)

There's a limited selection of food items on the menu, but boy are they good.

You order your food from a window in an alley. After they hand you your food, you can then go sit in a small area inside.

There's a store above the restaurant with many cool Eminem related artifacts as well as items for sale (hoodies, drinking glasses, spaghetti sauce and more).

"Spaghetti with (meat)balls" from Mom's Spaghetti

If you like comics and graphic novels then you'll definitely want to find your way to Vault of Midnight.

My Pal Sammy in front of a wall of comics at Vault of Midnight's Detroit location.

Click here for details on Vault of Midnight's three Michigan locations.

I will end with a magical place - Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum!

Marvin's is in Farmington Hills, a short drive outside of Detroit, but if you like old school coin-operated arcades then this place is absolutely not to be missed.

There are many curious old school interactive machines...

A great lineup of pinball machines...

Every single part of Marvin's is filled with games and old school signage. Watch this YouTube video for a better sense of how amazing this place is!

I will close by returning to the people of Detroit. Sammy and I couldn't help but notice the level of civic pride that Detroit residents have in their city. It showed not just in what people wear - Detroit hats, sports jerseys and more - but also in the art and signage on the streets and how people spoke about their city. I'm not sure I've felt that as strongly elsewhere the way I did in Detroit. Well done Detroit!