DAVE KWIATKOWSKI
Where were you born? Dearborn Heights
Where do you currently live? I live in Ferndale at the moment.
What is your place of business and how long you’ve been in business? The Sugar House in Corktown. We’ve been open three months.
What did you do before The Sugar House? Motorcycle builder. Options trader in Chicago. Hosted a reality TV show on Discovery Channel.
Why did you decide to open The Sugar House in Detroit and not someplace else?
There is such a great community of people in Detroit. It’s such a small town, and everyone that lives here loves it. I wanted to add something to that community. And realistically, we could never have done this is some other big city, and it just wouldn’t have been as cool in the suburbs.
How do you feel your business has affected your neighborhood? People in Detroit want more quality products – they seek them out. I think that’s what we’re offering. A bit of quality, and a bit of culture that Detroiters deserve.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the city since you’ve opened? We’re so new, but I took about a year and a half to get this place open. In that time there have been tons of exciting developments in the area – Astro Coffee has totally transformed this block – Mercury Burger Bar will be open soon – our little area really is becoming an eating and drinking hub in Metro Detroit.
What do you think the future holds for the city of Detroit? I don’t want to be naive – there are still tons of problems in Detroit, but there are so many exciting new developments it’s hard not to get excited about the future. I think we’re looking at an actual resurgence of the city.
Lastly: Explain your no standing policy and how it has been received by Detroiters. The drinks we’re making take time. A lot of time. So we limit the number of people that we allow in so we can focus our attention on the existing customers. I would rather have sixty people in here that are getting their drinks quickly and have a great time, instead of a hundred and fifty people pissed off that it takes forever to get a drink. Some people have been upset that they can’t come in, but once they actually are in here, I think they get what it’s about. We opened this place so we could deliver an excellent product, everything else takes a back seat.
-
rna7 liked this
-
whatsgoinondetroit posted this
