Max & Erma's closes; steakhouse to open By Lisa Brody
Max & Erma's, a mainstay on Merrill Street in Birmingham for over 30 years, learned they will be closing by the end of the year, to be replaced by Stoney River Steakhouse. The family-oriented Max & Erma's, which serves hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and warm chocolate chip cookies, appears to be a victim of the upscale movement towards steakhouses in Birmingham. Max & Erma's Birmingham manager Casey Lester was told to refer calls to the restaurant's main management, who did not return calls requesting a comment on the closure. Stoney River Steakhouse will be the third dedicated steakhouse in just the central business district of downtown Birmingham, joining Cameron's Steakhouse, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and the newly-opened Hyde Park Steakhouse. Eddie Merlot's Steakhouse is scheduled to open at Woodward and Big Beaver in Bloomfield Township this winter. Numerous calls to Stoney River Steakhouse were not returned, but its website notes that the restaurant, which the site says serves “legendary steak,” was begun in Atlanta in 2000, and has other locations in Annapolis and Towson, Maryland; Duluth and Roswell, Georgia; Louisville; Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee; and Chesterfield, Missouri. The steakhouse group was purchased by the restaurant chain O'Charley's Inc. from the original owners. While the other Birmingham steakhouses are not open for lunch, Stoney River Steakhouse has a lunch and dinner menu, at least for some of their locations. Both the lunch and dinner menus offer a wide range of steaks and fish. The lunch menu also offers salads and sandwiches.
Former Big Boy to become Mex eatery By Lisa Brody
A contemporary, trendy Mexican restaurant, to be called Mex, will take the place of the former Big Boy restaurant on Telegraph Road just south of Maple in Bloomfield Township, confirmed chef and restaurateur Zack Sklar, who purchased the building with investors. Sklar, who is the owner of Social downtownpublications.com
Kitchen and Bar in Birmingham and Cutting Edge Cuisine Catering Company in West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills, said he does not yet have a time table for opening the new establishment, although it is likely to be in 2013. He said the new restaurant will be a contemporary Mexican restaurant serving lunch and dinner, with a family orientation. “It's going to be over-the-top and really incredible,” he said. The new eatery will accommodate approximately 200 diners, with parking for about 100 vehicles. The design and planning process is just beginning. “I'm going to do the design, just as I did with Social,” Sklar said. “Ron Rea (of Ron & Roman in Birmingham) is doing the restaurant layout. There's no one better in the business than Ron.” Sklar said he is excited at the opportunity to create another restaurant, one that is very different from Social, which he describes as refined comfort food. “We have nothing that is contemporary, chic Mexican. There will be lots of great food and drinks,” he said.
Payne honored with naming of building Former Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dave Payne was honored on Sunday, October 14, with the naming of the new public services building in his honor. Payne, who did not know the building was to be named the Dave Payne Public Services Building, was surprised when he attended the Bloomfield Township Open House with his wife, children and grandchildren. Payne retired from Bloomfield Township in July 2011 after 41 years with the township. “Dave got his start at Bloomfield Township’s Road Department when he was 19 years old and working his way through college. Forty-one years later, he retired after serving 12 years as a highly admired and respected supervisor, but remains a 'Roadie' at heart,” said community relations director Leslie Helwig. “The (almost) new public services building will be named the Dave Payne Public Services Building to honor him for his service to Bloomfield Township and especially his success in winning voter approval in 2006 for funding major improvements to the civic campus. Aside from the new public services building, the senior center was built and central fire station was renovated,” Helwig said. DOWNTOWN
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