River Bistro in Detroit to change focus, will serve weekends only

After a much-buzzed opening last summer, chef Maxcel Hardy announced Tuesday that his River Bistro will cease service during the week and instead offer brunch and dinner service Saturdays and Sundays only, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 

Chef Hardy said in a release that he’s been considering this change for a while because he gets most of his business on the weekends. 

“The plan is to repurpose the restaurant in such a way that maintains our strong dine-in and takeout business,” he said in a statement. “However, the demands for our special events and catering business during the week have outweighed the level of customer dining traffic during the same time.” 

Hardy says during the week he’ll use the space to grow his corporate catering opportunities, offer private dining and make the kitchen available to aspiring chefs. 

A Detroit native, Hardy spent the past several years cooking in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. The River Bistro got a favorable response from critics since opening, including The Detroit News' Molly Abraham, who rated it "very good." 

Last week Hardy opened Coop, a fried chicken restaurant inside of Detroit Shipping Company, a food hall and beer garden made from 22 shipping containers in Midtown. 

River Bistro is at 18456 Grand River in Detroit. Call (313) 953-2225. 

mbaetens@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @melodybaetens