from “le détroit” · the strait
Food influencer Starex Smith, known online as the Hungry Black Man, opened Smith & Williams at 1428 Gratiot Ave. in Eastern Market on May 1, his second location after Toledo.
Starex Smith, the food influencer who built a national following as the Hungry Black Man, opened Smith & Williams at 1428 Gratiot Ave. on Friday, May 1. The Eastern Market room is a soul food restaurant carrying the Smith & Williams name.
It is the second Smith & Williams. The first opened in Toledo in December 2025, on Lewis Avenue, and gave Smith a working blueprint before scaling up for Detroit. The Gratiot space had a soft opening over Easter weekend, followed by the May 1 grand opening.
The menu leans into Southern cooking made from scratch. Early service has featured shrimp and grits, house-made buttermilk biscuits, oxtail lasagna, whole roasted turkey wings over cornbread dressing and braised oxtails. The kitchen runs weekend-heavy, with brunch on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and dinner service later in the week.
The building has held several restaurants before this one. It was once home to the well-reviewed Antietam, and later to Le Culture Cafe, Oishi Soul Cafe and Bite Bar and Grill. Smith & Williams is the latest tenant in a space that has cycled through concepts.
Smith, who relocated from Miami, framed the move as a bet on the city's appetite. "Detroit is my heart, but also it's a really great market," he said in a video posted ahead of the opening, per the Detroit News. "If your food is good, you're going to do well in Detroit. It's a dining culture."
The opening adds a sit-down soul food option inside the Eastern Market district, on the Gratiot corridor a short walk from Russell Street.
1428 Gratiot Ave., Eastern Market. Reservations by phone or text at 567-970-9059.
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