Corridor Sausage Co. to bring homemade links to Cass Ave.

Will Branch and Zach Klein will open Corridor Sausage Co. in Willys Overland Lofts on Canfield, next to Traffic Jam and Snug, in September 2010. They currently rent production space in Howell and make small batches for a handful of restaurants in Ann Arbor and Detroit, and their tasso ham is available for purchase at Avalon International Breads.

Ultimately, their 2,000-square-foot space inside Willys will offer fresh and smoked sausages, cured meats and other meat-based products. Besides traditional recipes, they specialize in slightly left-of-center charcuterie -- think lamb sausage blended with dried fig and ras el hanout. Branch characterizes their approach as "playful" and emphasizes their local commitment. "We're trying to use as many Michigan products as we can," he says.

Branch, who is a chef at The Whitney, and Klein, who puts in time at Ann Arbor's Jolly Pumpkin, believe in bringing handmade quality to Detroiters. "We want to bring back artisan meats, and this is a meat and potatoes town," he says. "This style of cooking is a dying art in this country, but it is starting to pick up in places like San Francisco, New York and Chicago and, with this resurgence, we felt like we could push forward and make a go of it."

Corridor Sausage is only one component of the Canfield frontage of the Willys development, which is shaping up to also include a bakery and a microbrewery.

Source: Will Branch, Corridor Sausage Co.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh