Tour A Future Restaurant With Gratiot's Best Art Deco Facade

Gratiot Avenue's two most impressive art deco storefronts will one day harbor a fine dining restaurant and bakery dubbed Frontera. And while the space has been under renovation for more than a year, you will have to keep waiting for the meticulous process to play out before owner Greg Holm will be ready to open to the public. In the meantime, Holm has started making the space available for "pop-up" style events, so if you know the right people, you might just get a preview. We got one with Curbed photographers Michelle and Chris Gerard on Wednesday night.

Wednesday night's event was part of the National Trust Partners Network Executive Retreat. Preservation Detroit worked with the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to host preservation leaders from around the country, and this reception capped off a day of talks and touring.

Much conversation among the pro-saving-old-pretty-things group centered upon the wooden cabinets that are built in to the back wall of the front room. Turns out they didn't actually come with the building; Holm found them in storage over at Historic Fort Wayne. They were originally taken from a ship.

While the Frontera space seems to have a fully functioning kitchen and a nearly completed room on the west side, the eastern room is still lightly under renovation for now. When pressed on when Frontera wil officially open, Holm responds with a stern, "before I die." While getting it open after death would be a more impressive feat, we'll take whatever is sooner.
· Facade Overhaul on Gratiot Looks Almost Done, Super Art Deco [Curbed Detroit]
· A Helluva Facade Overhaul on Gratiot Will Lead to a New Restaurant, Pastry Shop, Inn [Curbed Detroit]