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Melway Burgers is moving from pop-up to a permanent Hamtramck storefront at 10335 Joseph Campau Avenue, with a butcher shop, cafe, and bakery planned. An opening is anticipated in 2027.
Melanie McElroy has been flipping smashburgers around metro Detroit as a pop-up since 2023, and in 2027 she will finally have a counter to call her own.
Melway Burgers is moving into 10335 Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck, and the plan reaches well past burgers.
The building is set to hold a butcher shop, a cafe, a bakery, and a farmstand. Plans also call for the space to double as a distribution hub for community and mutual-aid programs.
That beef is the whole idea. Melway describes its approach as mixing "white-tile nostalgia" with that grass-fed beef.
McElroy is building the kitchen with Nicholas Ponte, the in-house butcher and chef, who was previously head butcher at Marrow. The pairing puts a trained butcher behind the same counter as the burgers, which is unusual for a smashburger spot.
The address carries some Hamtramck memory. The storefront was home to the Campau Tower institution before Dos Locos Tacos took over. Realtor Craig Brown represented McElroy in the deal.
Until the doors open, Melway stays a moving target. It has served smashburgers with fries in one to three patties, plus hot dogs, bowls with chips, and brownies. Recent stops have included Urbanfest Brewing Co in Ferndale and Down in The Alley in the Cass Corridor.
A brick-and-mortar changes the math for a burger cook who has spent three years borrowing other people's rooms. It also plants a butcher shop and a bakery on Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck.
An opening is anticipated in 2027. No exact date, hours, or final menu has been set.
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