Terrible news from Cadillac Square: Papa Joe's is off. According to MetroTimes, the gourmet grocer's hotly anticipated location at the First National Building is "up in the air." From what it sounds like, there is little chance it will come down.
Anthony Curtis (the Papa Joe's co-owner) told MetroTimes that preliminary build-out plans for the 22,000 s.f. space were $4M over-budget, adding that a financial agreement with Gilbert/Bedrock was "not going to be reached." Keep in mind, early renderings depicted a glassy storefront extending out into the square, rooftop seating included.
This is a major blow for Dan Gilbert's vision for Cadillac Square, which had Papa Joe's anchoring an open-air food marketplace. A place where young professionals could meet up and split a $40 broasted chicken, like they do in real cities. Though the door is still open should the Papa wish to renegotiate, Bedrock is working to court similar retailers for its former space. Both Midtown and downtown now have giant, expensive, grocery-oriented spaces to offload. We're pulling for a Trader Joe's.
(Note: As far as we know, the second downtown Papa Joe's location in the RenCen is still happening.)
· Papa Joe's location in downtown Detroit in question [MetroTimes]
· Tour the Sparkling New Lobby of the First National Building [Curbed]
· Preparing for Papa's: First National Building Rips Off Ceiling [Curbed]
· PAPA JOE'S IS COMING TO DOWNTOWN DETROIT WE THINK [Curbed]
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