Pocket Change's rooftop turns into an oyster bar on Sundays with Mink's Sarah Welch and Cameron Rolka

Pocket Change, the cocktail bar that opened this spring across Gratiot from Eastern Market, has started giving its rooftop over to guest chefs on Sundays. The first of those pop-ups brought Mink to the patio for oysters.

Sarah Welch and Cameron Rolka, the pair behind the Corktown raw bar Mink, shucked for the afternoon on the third-floor patio at 1454 Gratiot Ave. Mink runs an east coast and west coast oyster program, and the rooftop service followed the same idea.

The bar itself sits on the second floor, with the patio one flight up and a view over the Eastern Market sheds. It runs about 1,200 square feet and seats 49, per Hour Detroit. The main marker out front is a red neon sign that reads COCKTAILS.

Owner Nelson Kazan spent roughly a decade in Detroit bars before this, with stops at SheWolf, Flowers of Vietnam, the Apparatus Room, and the now-closed Republic Tavern. He opened Pocket Change with brothers Kris and Fred Lelcaj. "I wanted to create a fun, upbeat bar where you can mingle, go on a date, meet friends, or connect with new people, all while enjoying a quality drink without having to wait for a table," Kazan told Hour Detroit.

The Sunday pop-up format is something Kazan wants to keep running through the season, with the rooftop reserved for visiting chefs. The bar is open Sundays from 2 to 10 p.m.

The timing put Mink in front of a Detroit crowd during a period of change for Welch. Her last day as executive chef at Marrow was April 30, 2025, after about seven years helping build the West Village butcher-driven restaurant. She remains a partner at Mink, where Rolka, her husband, is the executive chef.

Welch is a two-time James Beard nominee for Best Chef in the Great Lakes, in 2020 and 2023, and reached the finals; she was also a finalist on season 19 of Bravo's "Top Chef." She and Rolka are now planning Umbo, a seafood and raw bar concept they intend to open in 2026 at 430 E. Front St. in Traverse City. "I think every city needs a good oyster bar," Welch told the Traverse City Ticker.

For now, the oysters keep coming up the stairs in Eastern Market. Pocket Change is at 1454 Gratiot Ave., third-floor patio, with the next guest chef night already in the works.