Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe opens in Brush Park

Detroit welcomed another grocery store to its well-established and growing mix of supermarkets last weekend when Ye Olde Butcher Shopped opened its doors in Midtown.

The independent grocery story is the work of Michael and Peter Solaka. The brothers are recreating the famed supermarket experience their father created with his grocery store of the same name in Lafayette Park in the 1970s and '80s. The supermarket will feature both everyday staples and high-end items.

"We're an urban grocery store, so we won't have everything," says Michael Solaka, co-owner of Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe. "We're trying to have a good mix of everyday items and finer items as well. It will have all the stuff you need to cook a great meal."

Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe is opening in the former Zaccaro's Market space at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Watson Street in Brush Park. The reconfigured space aims to better serve customers with things like its "City Basics" department, which has everything from paper and cleaning products, seasonal items, kitchen and cooking gadgets, and other sundries for the growing residential market.

Contrast that with some of its more gourmet options, such as fresh bagels and smoked fish offered with an option of a newspaper like The New York Times on Sundays. There will also be an in-house butcher among the staff of 15 people. The space will also include an outdoor patio on the north side of the building.

Source: Michael Solaka, co-owner of Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe
Writer: Jon Zemke

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