Crain's Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI (2026)

01/08/2026

Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak is getting one of the more popular fast-food options, filling a retail space that has been empty for several years.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A will open a new restaurant this spring at 30955 Woodward Ave. in the Woodward Corners plaza at 13 Mile Road. A company spokesperson confirmed the planned opening to Crain’s.

The new Chick-fil-A will take over a space that was previously home to a Wahlburgers, which closed in 2022. The restaurant will not have a drive-through, which most free-standing locations do.

The opening of the Royal Oak restaurant will create 80-120 jobs, the company said. It will be the fifth Oakland County location for Chick-fil-A, following restaurants in Auburn Hills, Southfield, Novi and a location inside Somerset Collection North in Troy.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/chick-fil-plans-new-store-royal-oak?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/07/2026

The closure of the Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA headquarters in Farmington Hills will impact 265 employees, the company recently disclosed to the state.

As a result of the office closure, which was previously announced in May, the automaker said all the employees were “offered the opportunity to relocate to facilities outside of Michigan,” and 108 accepted that offer, according to a WARN notice. The remaining 157 employees declined the offer, and will be phased out of their employment at various times through Aug. 31, according to the notice.

In a statement sent after this story was originally published, Mercedes-Benz said, in part:

"This is not a plan to cut jobs. The centralization of key corporate and engineering teams will enable us to be more agile, increase speed to market and ensure the best customer experience. Mercedes-Benz will maintain its existing Research & Development office in Ann Arbor."

The statement continues: "Our goal is to relocate as many of our existing employees to the new locations as possible. While we cannot share specific details, employees who choose to relocate with the company are being offered a comprehensive relocation package to support moving themselves and their families, and severance packages are being offered to employees who do not relocate with the company."

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automotive/mercedes-benz-office-closure-farmington-hills-impact-265-workers?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/07/2026

When Joe Vicari opened his first restaurant in the Renaissance Center, Andiamo Riverfront, in 2004, the city of Detroit was in a different place. But Vicari saw the RenCen as a shining star and the center of the city’s business activity. And that's where he wanted to be.

But now, Vicari is in a pickle: He wants to honor the agreements he has with General Motors Co. to continue running two of his most popular properties at the increasingly empty Renaissance Center, but declining foot traffic and sales may force his hand as he works to move the restaurants to new downtown homes.

Tower 400, where Joe Muer Seafood and Andiamo Detroit Riverfront restaurants operate is proposed to be demolished for a more than $1 billion redevelopment led by Dan Gilbert's real estate company Bedrock.

GM, which has owned the complex since 1996, has notified all tenants that the complex is being emptied, save for the Marriott hotel, and that deals would be reached to get them out of their leases. Many RenCen tenants have already vacated their spaces, and others are being urged to leave.

Vicari said he agreed to honor his leases and stay on, but never expected the complex to get so empty and sales to drop off so quickly.

Vicari told Crain’s that he’ll meet later this month with GM real estate officials to discuss his options and possible concessions. Vicari said he would like to see his rent payments lowered because of the lack of foot traffic and other businesses inside the RenCen.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/rencen-empties-andiamo-and-joe-muer-fight-hang?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/07/2026

It’s been a year of dramatic and sometimes painful change in the corridors of Detroit’s most powerful real estate developer and landlord.

In recent months, Fleisher, who was tabbed as the incoming CEO in early August, has been emphasizing Bedrock’s new focus on the area between the RenCen and the Douglas MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle, referring to that area as a key strip to be transformed over the next 10-15 years, much as Woodward Avenue was the previous decade and a half.

With a redeveloped and reimagined RenCen as a waterfront center of gravity, market demand would spill from there eastward, Fleisher and Bedrock envision.

In other words, as goes the RenCen, so goes the riverfront.

"You cannot redevelop the riverfront in the shadow of a dying Renaissance Center," Fleisher said.

As with Woodward, Fleisher said, "we've made a market, and now that market has momentum and perpetuation."

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/bedrock-ceo-jared-fleisher-pivots-woodward-riverfront?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/06/2026

Michigan’s legal ma*****na industry is facing an uncertain future.

Rampant oversupply continues to compress pricing — ma*****na flower reached historic lows in November — and a new 24% wholesale tax goes into effect in days. And overall, the industry is contracting.

Based on monthly data, Crain’s projects total ma*****na sales in 2025 to decline by nearly 4% from 2024. And it’s a national trend. The U.S. cannabis industry has peaked.

Roughly 23 legal states are expected to report year-over-year revenue declines this year, down 3.2% from 2024, according to Whitney Economics, leading to more than $6 billion in personal wealth destruction.

The question for 2026 isn’t about growth — but how far the industry will fall.

While the cannabis industry is making a last-minute appeal to stop the 24% wholesale tax in court, for now, operators are expecting a purge of businesses that are simply holding on.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/cannabis/michigans-weed-industry-braces-its-toughest-year-yet?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/06/2026

A Birmingham nonprofit says it has a buyer for its downtown building that has been the subject of concern for the last two months.

A top official at The Community House Association would not identify the other local nonprofit that has entered into a letter of understanding to buy the building for above its $7.04 million asking price, but told Crain's that a deal is expected to close in early February.

"We're putting final details in place for a purchase agreement as we speak," said Alison Gaudreau, president of The Community House Association.

The city of Birmingham sued The Community House in late November to enforce deed restrictions requiring its property at 380 S. Bates St. between Merill and Townsend streets to be held exclusively as a community center for Birmingham residents.

“Our buyer has also agreed to follow them and understands that’s part of the transactions,” said Gaudreau, who joined The Community House as president in May. That includes retaining the early childhood center and banquet and hospitality space.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/community-house-has-buyer-its-birmingham-building?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/06/2026

The Detroit News will publish a Sunday print edition for the first time in decades after its 36-year joint operating agreement with the Detroit Free Press ended.

Detroit News Editor and Publisher Gary Miles made the announcement in a message to readers, two days before the deal dissolved in a "momentous change." The News also plans to soon make over its website, mobile app, eNewspaper and print design as the new independently operated entity seeks "fresh ways to deliver the information you have come to know and trust," he wrote.

"It will be the first time since 1989 that you will get a Sunday Detroit News filled entirely with content written or chosen by our staff," Miles wrote.

The first Sunday print edition of The News is slated for Jan. 18.

The two daily newspapers, which have operated for decades with shared business resources including advertising sales and printing, announced in June that the agreement would cease. Last winter, the papers moved into different buildings for the first time in two decades.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/media-marketing/detroit-news-free-press-split-joint-operating-agreement-ends?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/05/2026

From the resurrection of a notable Oakland County restaurant to the closure of some longstanding dining spots, 2025 was not short on news in the metro Detroit restaurant scene.

Here’s a look at some of the notable restaurant (and a few bars) openings in Detroit and the metro area in 2025.

Click here for the full list: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/restaurants-opened-and-closed-metro-detroit-2025?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/02/2026

Michigan’s newest Sheetz opens later this month, and the company is ramping up work on a handful of future locations.

The Pennsylvania-based gas and convenience company will open its fourth Michigan location on Dec. 30 at 31925 Van D**e Ave. in Warren. The store will take over a space occupied for years by the Pampas Lanes bowling alley.

The opening of the Warren store will mark the fourth Sheetz location to open in Michigan since August 2024 as a part of a massive wave of planned expansion.

Construction is also underway on five other metro Detroit Sheetz stores.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail/sheetz-open-warren-gas-station-dec-30?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

12/30/2025

More than four years after breaking ground, just over half of the nearly 30-mile-long Joe Louis Greenway will be open in the coming year as new segments come online.

Among the additions is a former rail bridge over Woodward Avenue in Highland Park. Unused for decades, the revamped bridge now sports Joe Louis Greenway lettering on either side that will light up when the bridge opens this summer. It will provide pedestrian access across that section of Woodward for the first time, connecting Detroit and Highland Park, said Crystal Perkins, director of the city of Detroit’s general services department.

The bridge will enable programming along newly accessible segments of the greenway, activating spaces that were previously disconnected and bringing more residents safely onto the trail, said Leona Medley, executive director of the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership, which is expanding access to the trail through programming aimed at community engagement and economic impact.

Work on the 29.8-mile greenway began in 2021 to connect 23 Detroit neighborhoods to the cities of Dearborn, Hamtramck, Highland Park and those cities to Detroit’s riverfront.

Coming into this year, roughly a third or 9.9 miles, including 6-7 miles of new construction, was complete. Another 5.7 miles is under construction and set to be completed and opened in 2026, Perkins said.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/sports-recreation/joe-louis-greenway-hit-halfway-mark-new-segments?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

12/28/2025

Subaru is returning to the Detroit Auto Show for the first time since 2022, but BMW, Mazda and Rivian have dropped out.

The show, which runs Jan. 14-25, will have 27 brands participating, five more than this year’s event. Subaru is the only new brand with a corporate-sponsored display, while local dealers will show off models from Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini and Polestar.

Volkswagen, which had a corporate display in January 2025, is relying on its dealers this year instead.

BMW and Mazda, which stopped participating at a corporate level years earlier, had dealer-supported displays at the last Detroit show, but those are not returning in 2026, according to a Friday news release from show organizers.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/auto-show/detroit-auto-show-gains-5-brands-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

12/26/2025

One of Detroit’s Big Four pro sports teams has expanded its partnership with one of the city’s biggest entertainers.

The Detroit Pistons named Detroit native and multi-platinum rapper Big Sean as the team’s creative director of global experience. The move is aimed at building on the team’s cultural identity and speeding up global fan growth, according to a news release. Big Sean will use his influence across creative, community and international initiatives, working with the Pistons on creative direction, community engagement, and international fan development, the team said.

Big Sean said taking on the new role allows him to tout the Pistons and Detroit on a bigger scale.

“Detroit has always been rich with talent and culture, and my mission is to keep opening doors and hiring our city's creatives to shine alongside one of the most iconic franchises in sports,” he said in the release. “I'm grateful to the Pistons for trusting me to help define what the culture of Detroit Basketball really means.”

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/sports-recreation/detroit-pistons-tap-big-sean-help-boost-global-fan-growth?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

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