CeCe ya later, Corktown pub to close soon
Enjoy one last meal at Corktown’s St. CeCe’s Food and Spirits, which has been sold to a new owner and will close in a few weeks
Because of this very column you’re reading, I often get asked for advice on where one should grab lunch, brunch or dinner.
Whenever someone is looking for something easy in Corktown, I often suggest St. CeCe’s. The casual pub has its own parking lot, great bartenders and a solid menu of comfort foods that usually have respectable vegetarian offerings. There’s a garden with fire pit for the dining outdoors in the warmer months, and a fireplace inside for cozy dining in the winter.
I’ve eaten dinner there with co-workers, taken my mom there for lunch, met friends for brunch and enjoyed more than one of their weekly pop-ups when they hand the kitchen over to a guest chef for the evening. It was at one of these pop-ups that I first tried the creations of one of Detroit’s most applauded chefs, Brad Greenhill, long before he opened nearby hot spot Katoi.
Having been such a fan, I was bummed to learn the 3200-square-foot restaurant, which was formerly Irish restaurant Baile Corcaigh, was for sale. Last month, the owners of St. CeCe’s revealed that they’ve found a buyer, and will be closing “in a few weeks.”
In the meantime, though, they are open and fans of the hip spot should check it out one last time. While owners say they’re planning another location in the future, it won’t be the same as this 1426 Bagley locale.
No word yet on who bought it or what the future holds.
They aren’t open for lunch anymore, but you can get dinner daily and brunch from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Look for hearty pub fare like mac & cheese balls Scotch eggs and pork chops mixed with trendy items such as tofu sliders and Parmesan truffle fries.
For brunch, the house-made Bloody Marys are $4 on Saturdays and on Sunday the mimosas are bottomless. After all, “drink now, repent later,” is St. CeCe’s motto.
Grab some mead and help preemies
Later this month the folks at Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale will raise funds for the Beaumont Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. From Nov. 17-20, 20 percent of all sales at their Ferndale tasting room will be donated.
There’s a personal reason behind this. Schramm’s co-owner Alyson Schramm Naeger’s daughter Madeline was born at only 23 weeks in 2015. She and her husband, James Naeger, were told to prepare for the worst. Madeline persevered, though, and she’s a healthy toddler today who even has a popular, fly-off-the-shelves boysenberry mead named after her.
The Naeger’s want to give back to Beaumont so that the hospital can continue helping families with infants in crisis. Besides donating 20 percent of sales, Schramm’s will also be collecting breastfeeding cloaks that open in the front, insulated milk bags, infant clothing that snaps or zips in the front and Keurig pods (for tired parents).
Find Schramm’s Mead tasting room and retail shop at 327 W. Nine Mile in Ferndale.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2402
Twitter: @melodybaetens