From Pierre Batton

Interim Vice President of Small Business Services 

Last week, the DEGC, Mayor Mike Duggan, City Council President Brenda Jones, Council President Pro-Tempore Mary Sheffield, funders, community partners, DPS students and others celebrated the official opening of Motor City Match (MCM) awardee The Kitchen, by Cooking with Que. Business owner Quiana “Que” Broden received a $60,000 cash grant from MCM in Round 10 to open The Kitchen, a vegan café that doubles as a classroom for Broden to promote wellness and healthy eating.

The Kitchen opening is so much more than the story of a new vegan restaurant in New Center. The Kitchen delivers on MCM’s promise of supporting local entrepreneurs and building retail density in Detroit’s commercial corridors.

Broden joins open MCM businesses Ferne Boutique, Yum Village, Banner Sign Company, Urbanum and Batch Brewing Company in New Center. Five other MCM businesses, including Baobab Fare and Textures by Nefertiti, will be opening soon.

“The Kitchen, by Cooking with Que, is the latest example of a unique, sustainable business taking root in a growing and evolving district thanks to the help of Motor City Match,” said Mary Sheffield, City Council President Pro‐Tempore. “The long-lasting impact of businesses like this one are essential to the continued revitalization of Detroit.”

While it’s exciting to welcome large manufacturers to the city, half of all U.S. workers are employed by small businesses. The Kitchen is expected to staff up to 14 employees. Today, 69 MCM businesses are open, with another 51 under construction. Earlier this month, MCM celebrated the opening of Diamond Smiles Dentistry in Jefferson Chalmers, a full-service practice owned by Dr. Aisha Akpabio. Like The Kitchen and Diamond Smiles, 81 percent of all MCM businesses are minority-owned and 70 percent are owned by women.

New Center is alive with excitement today because of people like Broden, the support of Mayor Duggan, the entire City Council, Motor City Match, Sue Mosey, DDF, Invest Detroit, the Small Business Development Center, and countless others that all believe in walkable neighborhoods, local retail and dreams coming true.

For more information on The Kitchen, by Cooking with Que, visit
https://cookingwithque.com/.

For more information on the DEGC, visit www.degc.org.

DAKKOTA INTEGRATED SYSTEMS TO BRING 625 JOBS TO DETROIT The DEGC, along with Mayor Mike Duggan and Dakkota Integrated Systems  leaders announced the building of a 600,000-square-foot parts plant in the former Kettering High School building on Detroit’s east side.

DEGC WORKS WITH LOCAL UNIVERSITIES Michigan’s top three research universities – University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University – will be working with the DEGC and others to provide economic forecasting for Detroit.

KEVIN JOHNSON FEATURED IN THE DETROIT FREE PRESS Kevin Johnson was recently highlighted in the Detroit Free Press, discussing tax incentives and economic development in Detroit.

FIRST TENANTS MOVE INTO THE FORMER TIGERS STADIUM SITE The first tenants of The Corner at the former Tigers Stadium site in are expected to move into the Corktown development..

“FOOD ACCELERATOR” PROJECT FEATURED IN BENZINGA The “Food Accelerator” project, which is in pre-development status with support from the city of Detroit and DEGC was featured in Benzinga. Read the article here.