Daily Detroit, the local news and culture publication that has covered Detroit since 2016, introduced a mascot this week. His full name is Vernon Lucius Phezzgerald III. Most are calling him Phezzy. Some are calling him Vern. He is a pheasant, and the reasoning tracks: pheasants show up throughout Detroit, in vacant lots, along park edges, in backyard gardens across the east and west sides. They are a fixture in the city, not a rarity. The artwork came from a listener who volunteered it. Daily Detroit notes the mascot is not AI-generated. This is the publication's first real mascot and its first major logo change since it launched.
The same post covers five local items worth knowing this week.
Sml Wrld Cafe opened April 4 at 2220 Gratiot. It is a matcha cafe and slow bar. Daily Detroit's description: almost like a speakeasy of coffee, but with windows and not expensive. A slow bar prioritizes manual brewing methods, typically pour-over or similar, over fast espresso service. Sml Wrld has been operating out of Ann Arbor, at 301 South Main Street in the Shinola building, while building toward a Detroit storefront. The Gratiot Avenue address is the first Detroit location. East side.
Metro Detroit's air quality received an F from the American Lung Association in the 2026 State of the Air report. The F covers particle pollution and ozone levels, both of which exceed federal health standards. It is not the first F for the region. Industrial facilities along the Detroit River corridor and heavy vehicle traffic on I-94 and I-75 keep the metro near the bottom nationally. The American Lung Association publishes the State of the Air report annually. Detroit has been in the failing tier for several consecutive years. The grade is based on air quality readings accumulated over multiple years of monitoring, not a single bad day. Detroit has had enough unhealthy days in that window to stay in the failing category. For people with asthma or other respiratory conditions, an F means more high-risk days per year.
Hatch Detroit's public vote is open through April 29. The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest, run by TechTown, Wayne State University's entrepreneurship hub, has awarded $100,000 annually to one entrepreneur opening a brick-and-mortar in Detroit, Highland Park, or Hamtramck since 2011. Ten semifinalists were announced April 21 at TechTown Detroit. Daily Detroit lists nine by name: The Coloring Museum, Cone Vecinos, Detroit Culture & Clay, Asante's Hi-Life Library, Sugar and Soul, Detroit Drift Social, Hobby Factory, Kraftologie, and Detroit Movie Theater. One additional semifinalist is not named in the post. The four finalists pitch at the Hatch Off on May 13 at Wayne State University's Industry Innovation Center.
Daily Detroit also flags the closing of a longtime Detroit diner. The post describes it as the end of an era. No name is given.
Sml Wrld Cafe, 2220 Gratiot Avenue.
