Author
Samantha
Guest Writer
Samantha is a Guest Writer at Strait Journal. Reports on Detroit's drinking institutions - the bars, venues, cocktail rooms, listening bars, and dive bars that make the city's night scene.
Has contributed pieces to the Journal since 2024 and stepped into a more defined guest role in 2026.
Drinks Negronis. Currently working through a list of every dive bar east of Woodward, with mixed results. Believes the best room in Detroit on a slow Tuesday is whichever one the bartender remembers your name in. Has a senior beagle named Roy.
New enough to the masthead that she still gets excited about every assignment.
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Quick hits
- Favorite room:
- Temple Bar on a Wednesday
- Favorite restaurant:
- Bunny Bunny
- One Detroit artist to put on first:
- DJ Holographic
Recent work
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ArtsNews
Kresge Arts in Detroit names 2026 Fellows and Gilda Award winnersKresge Arts in Detroit named 20 metro Detroit artists as 2026 Fellows and Gilda Award recipients, sending $50,000 and $5,000 no-strings grants to dancers, filmmakers, and musicians.By Samantha · Jul 5, 2026

CommunityProfile
A Davis Aerospace student flies solo, the first in 11 years, as the school heads back to City AirportA Davis Aerospace Technical High School senior became the first student to complete a solo flight since 2015, just as the Detroit district moves the aviation school back to Coleman A. Young International Airport for fall 2026.By Samantha · Jun 11, 2026

CommunityNews
Spot Lite's 22,000-Square-Foot Islandview home hits the Market at $1.75 millionThe Beaufait Street building that housed Spot Lite Detroit is listed for $1,750,000 as owners Roula David and Jesse Cory step away from nightlife at the end of June.By Samantha · Jun 18, 2026

CommunityNews
Fowling Warehouse, the game's Detroit birthplace, closes June 27Founder Chris Hutt says the original Hamtramck warehouse is no longer sustainable. Its last day, June 27, doubles as the annual Motor City Open.By Samantha · Jun 17, 2026

CityNews
The University of Michigan just broke ground on a 313-Unit tower in Detroit. It's a 40-Year commitment.The University of Michigan broke ground on Founders House, a 313-unit tower at 2205 Cass Avenue for graduate students and faculty, on a 40-year lease.By Samantha · Jun 12, 2026

CommunityNews
Pine Hall opens Thursday on the 12th floor of Hudson's DetroitPine Hall, a rooftop bar from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, opens June 11 on the 12th floor of Hudson's Detroit, named for the old J.L. Hudson Pine Room.By Samantha · Jun 11, 2026

CommunityNews
Detroit residents get a final say this week on Cooley High's demolitionDPSCD will tear down the 1928 Cooley High this summer for a sports complex. A meeting Wednesday is residents' last chance to weigh in before work begins.By Samantha · Jun 8, 2026

CityNews
Detroit's city airport opens its first new facility in 60 yearsAvflight's new fixed-base operator complex opened June 3 at Coleman A. Young International Airport, the first facility built there in six decades.By Samantha · Jun 8, 2026

CommunityPreview
Free Friday movies return to Campus Martius, July 3 through August 28The Downtown Detroit Partnership brings Movie Nights in the D back to Campus Martius Park with nine free Friday screenings this summer.By Samantha · Jun 4, 2026

EatsNews
Dutch Girl Donuts opens the door to its second shop on National Donut DayDutch Girl Donuts gives Detroiters a first look at its second shop on East Grand Boulevard this Friday, with two free donuts per visitor and boxed dozens for $20.By Samantha · Jun 4, 2026

CityNews
Bedrock clears out Millender Center retail ahead of RenCen overhaulThe handful of shops left in the downtown complex have until the end of August to leave, as owner Bedrock prepares for the $1.6 billion Renaissance Center redevelopment next door.By Samantha · May 28, 2026

MusicSpotlight
After the pulse drops on KerchevalWhen Movement clears out of Hart Plaza, the city's come-down lands in smaller rooms. Foxglove, a vinyl-only listening garden in the North End, is one of them.By Samantha · May 12, 2026

EatsNews
Little Liberia throws its grand opening on East WarrenChef Ameneh Marhaba's Little Liberia, billed as Michigan's first Liberian restaurant, marks its grand opening at 16530 E. Warren Ave. on May 15.By Samantha · May 8, 2026

EatsNews
Eastern Market Brewing Co. plans statewide distribution this summerThe Detroit brewery is moving its core brands to a contract production partner and pushing Elephant Juice and its other flagships across Michigan for the first time, with distribution set to start this summer.By Samantha · May 3, 2026

EatsNews
Smith & Williams brings soul food to Gratiot as the Hungry Black Man opens his Detroit roomFood 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.By Samantha · May 1, 2026

EatsNews
Spiedo, the Takoi team's Mediterranean rotisserie, takes the old Jolly Pumpkin on CanfieldBrad Greenhill and Mike Goldberg are bringing their Ann Arbor concept Spiedo to 441 W. Canfield, the former Jolly Pumpkin space, for a summer 2026 opening.By Samantha · Apr 29, 2026

EatsNews
El Trombone opens on West Vernor in the former Mutiny Tiki spaceA new gay bar called El Trombone is taking over the longtime Mutiny Tiki Bar room at 4654 Vernor Hwy, with cocktails and walk-in hours Wednesday through Saturday.By Samantha · Apr 28, 2026

CommunityNews
Pistons reach the second round, and Detroit's downtown turns it into a weekDetroit beat Orlando in Game 7 for its first playoff series win since 2008, and the second round against Cleveland brings two more downtown game nights this week.By Samantha · May 5, 2026

MusicReview
After Movement: where Detroit's techno weekend went once Hart Plaza closedMovement's 20th edition closed each night at Hart Plaza, but the city's clubs and warehouses kept the music running until daylight.By Samantha · May 28, 2025

CommunityPreview
Memorial Day weekend in Detroit 2026: a guide beyond MovementMovement takes Hart Plaza for three days, but the riverfront, Belle Isle, Eastern Market, and the patios all stay open through the long weekend.By Samantha · May 6, 2026

MusicProfile
TV Lounge, Marble Bar and Spot Lite anchor Movement weekend's offsite calendarThree Detroit rooms hold the bulk of the official afterparty schedule for Movement weekend, the late-night counterpart to the festival at Hart Plaza.By Samantha · May 5, 2026

MusicPreview
Where the parties go after Movement: a guide to the Detroit afterhours circuitMovement is three days at Hart Plaza and three nights almost everywhere else, and the afterhours circuit runs on independent venue bookings the festival never officially lists.By Samantha · May 4, 2026

CommunityProfile
Old Miami: the Cass Corridor veterans bar that became an after-hours roomOld Miami has been a veterans bar on Cass Avenue since 1980, and its long back patio has spent years as one of Detroit dance music's late-night landing spots.By Samantha · Apr 25, 2025

MusicProfile
Lincoln Factory, the Marble Bar team's warehouse room inside DreamtroitDetroit's Marble Bar crew opened a warehouse-scale room inside the $30 million Dreamtroit complex, and its first months filled fast with the kind of long-set techno nights smaller clubs cannot hold.By Samantha · Apr 10, 2025

CommunityProfile
Spot Lite, the east side room where Detroit dance music had a homeRoula David and Jesse Cory built Spot Lite on Beaufait Street as a bar, gallery, record shop, and music room under one roof.By Samantha · Mar 1, 2025

CommunityProfile
Marble Bar marks 10 years of house and techno on Holden StreetThe New Center club opened in 2015 in the old Detroit Eagle building, and a decade in it still books house and techno as its year round format.By Samantha · Feb 8, 2025

CommunityProfile
TV Lounge keeps Detroit techno running year round on Grand RiverThe Grand River Avenue club bills itself as Detroit's longest running nightclub, anchored by resident DJ Mister Joshooa and the annual House of EFUNK weekender.By Samantha · Jan 25, 2025

MusicReview
After Movement 2024: the afterparty circuit that ran the late hoursMovement filled Hart Plaza over Memorial Day weekend, but the festival's real late hours belonged to a citywide circuit of clubs and warehouses, anchored by a No Way Back run that turned Sunday night into a continuous block of music.By Samantha · May 29, 2024

ArtsNews
MOCAD reopens with new windows, a new name, and three Detroit showsThe Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit returns Saturday after an eight-month renovation, with a renamed building, a street-facing glass wall, and exhibitions by three Detroit artists.By Samantha · Apr 25, 2026

EatsNews
Bar Chenin is Michigan's only 2026 James Beard finalistThe James Beard Foundation named the ten-seat natural wine bar behind the Siren Hotel a Best New Bar finalist, the lone Michigan nominee in any category this year.By Samantha · Mar 31, 2026

EatsReview
Sunda New Asian opens its fifth restaurant in the District DetroitChicago restaurateur Billy Dec opened Sunda New Asian on Columbia Street on March 10, his pan-Asian brand's fifth location and a new anchor for the District Detroit's pedestrian block.By Samantha · Mar 10, 2026

EatsNews
Antidote opens at the Detroit edge of Grosse Pointe ParkNya Marshall's second restaurant, a Spanish-inspired room on East Jefferson, opens on a block that straddles the line between Jefferson-Chalmers and Grosse Pointe Park.By Samantha · Jan 19, 2026

EatsReview
Medusa brings Anthony Lombardo's Sicilian cooking a block from SheWolfAnthony Lombardo's second Midtown restaurant turns Selden Street into a two-block Italian stretch, with anchovies front and center.By Samantha · Jan 15, 2026

CityNews
GM moves its global headquarters to Hudson's DetroitGeneral Motors began moving its global headquarters into Hudson's Detroit on January 12, 2026, returning to Woodward Avenue and clearing the way for a $1.6 billion remake of the Renaissance Center it is leaving behind.By Samantha · Jan 12, 2026

EatsReview
Street Beet gets a permanent Corktown home with its name on the doorDetroit's long-running vegan pop-up Street Beet opens a brick-and-mortar at 1800 Michigan Avenue, in the former Bobcat Bonnie's space where the brand first popped up.By Samantha · Dec 11, 2025

CommunitySpotlight
Pingree Detroit opens its first store, handmade shoes and all, on Veterans DayThe veteran-owned cooperative that turns old car leather into shoes opened its first storefront at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11 in the District Detroit.By Samantha · Nov 11, 2025

CitySpotlight
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park opens on the west riverfrontDetroit's largest new riverfront park in decades opened October 25 on 22 acres between 8th Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard, closing a long-missing link in the Riverwalk.By Samantha · Oct 25, 2025

CityNews
The Detroit Riverwalk is now continuous from Belle Isle to Wilson ParkWith the October 25 opening of Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, the Detroit Riverwalk runs unbroken for about 4.75 miles from Gabriel Richard Park to the west riverfront.By Samantha · Oct 25, 2025

CityNews
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park opens, completing the western RiverwalkA 22-acre park opened Saturday on Detroit's west riverfront, closing the last gap in a continuous 4.75-mile Riverwalk from Belle Isle to southwest Detroit.By Samantha · Oct 25, 2025

ArtsReview
Mary-Ann Monforton turns Mike Kelley's Mobile Homestead into Heart LandMOCAD keeps its programming alive during a renovation by handing the Mobile Homestead to a Detroit sculptor who fills its four rooms with chicken wire, plaster, and a critique of American wealth.By Samantha · Oct 24, 2025

ArtsNews
Detroit's first contemporary art fair opens inside Michigan CentralSeason, billed as Detroit's first contemporary art fair, ran four days on the sixth floor of Michigan Central with eleven North American galleries and a curated slate of ten local artists.By Samantha · Sep 25, 2025

MusicReview
Foxglove moved its 2025 season closer to Dreamtroit, with Juan Atkins headlining a family day partyFoxglove ended its 2025 season on September 20 by leaving its North End garden for the larger Dreamtroit warehouse, where Juan Atkins headlined an 11 hour, family friendly day party.By Samantha · Sep 20, 2025

CityNews
Apple opens its first store in downtown DetroitApple opened its first downtown Detroit store at 1430 Woodward on iPhone 17 launch day, with Tim Cook on hand and a custom Detroit identity built into the space.By Samantha · Sep 19, 2025

ArtsReview
BLKOUT Walls spreads its third edition across DetroitDetroit's Black-led mural festival returned for its third edition with ten new walls, this time pushed out into Woodbridge, Franklin, and East Jefferson.By Samantha · Sep 4, 2025

CityProfile
Sip-N-Read opens in Corktown with an all-Michigan wine listDetroit author Tamela Todd opened her book bar at 1620 Michigan Ave., pairing a Michigan-only wine list with a curated shelf of titles and a $65,000 Motor City Match grant behind it.By Samantha · Aug 27, 2025

CommunityProfile
Walter Pat's Bakery Cafe won Hatch Detroit. Now Lauren Ellis builds the storefront.Lauren Ellis and her viennoiserie concept, Walter Pat's Bakery Cafe, took the $100,000 grand prize in the 2025 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest and a TechTown support package to open in Detroit's District 5.By Samantha · Jun 11, 2025

EatsSpotlight
Pocket Change's rooftop turns into an oyster bar on Sundays with Mink's Sarah Welch and Cameron RolkaThe new Eastern Market cocktail bar is handing its third-floor patio to guest chefs on Sundays, starting with a Mink oyster pop-up from Sarah Welch and Cameron Rolka.By Samantha · May 4, 2025

EatsSpotlight
Pocket Change opens a hidden cocktail bar above Eastern MarketA second-floor cocktail room marked only by a red COCKTAILS sign has opened at 1454 Gratiot, the work of veteran Detroit bartender Nelson Kazan.By Samantha · Apr 23, 2025

EatsProfile
A West Village building becomes two Latin restaurants at onceRobert Encarnación turned a long-vacant West Village building into a Latin American restaurant and a coffee shop under one roof, backed by a $65,000 Motor City Match grant.By Samantha · Mar 26, 2025

EatsReview
Dirty Shake opens at Forest and Second with a wraparound patio and boozy shakesThe casual Cass Corridor bar from the Freya and Chartreuse operators opened on 313 Day with burgers, wings, and boozy shakes at 4642 Second Ave.By Samantha · Mar 13, 2025

EatsSpotlight
Bar Chenin packs a 10-seat wine bar into the Siren HotelThe downtown wine counter seats about ten, takes no reservations, and a year after opening became Michigan's lone finalist for a 2026 James Beard Award.By Samantha · Mar 6, 2025

EatsProfile
Minnie's Detroit opens on Trumbull with late-night brunch and live musicA new Black-owned bar and restaurant from veteran Detroit nightlife operator Yvonne Byrd opened at 5221 Trumbull in Woodbridge with a grand opening on January 25, a Minnie Plates menu, and a weekend kitchen that runs to 3 a.m.By Samantha · Jan 25, 2025

EatsNews
Yellow Light Coffee opens inside Michigan Central, the Station's first food tenant since 1988An eastside coffee and donut shop becomes the first place to sell food and drink inside Michigan Central Station in 36 years.By Samantha · Dec 6, 2024

EatsNews
Hamilton's anchors the Godfrey Hotel in CorktownA neighborhood tavern from Samy Eid's Chickpea Hospitality fills the ground floor of Corktown's Godfrey Hotel, serving breakfast through dinner on Michigan Avenue.By Samantha · Sep 15, 2024

CityLegacy
UFO Bar opens where UFO Factory stoodRoula David of Spot Lite reopened the closed Corktown punk room at 2110 Trumbull as UFO Bar, with a grand opening set for the night of August 16, 2024.By Samantha · Aug 16, 2024

EatsReview
Vecino opens in a long-empty Cass Corridor corner, betting on heirloom cornA 1926 corner building at 4100 Third that sat vacant for half a century reopens as Vecino, a modern Mexican restaurant built around Michigan's first restaurant nixtamal program.By Samantha · Apr 19, 2024

MusicReview
Marble Bar turned 10 the only way it knows howMarble Bar marked a decade in New Center with a two night anniversary built on Detroit techno, headlined by Octave One live and Danny Daze.By Samantha · Oct 3, 2025

EatsSpotlight
A British pub on Mack Avenue is booking Detroit's techno foundersCannons, a British-style pub on Mack Avenue, pairs oysters and pints downstairs with a techno room upstairs that has already drawn Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson.By Samantha · Oct 2, 2025

MusicReview
Soul Clap's House of EFUNK hit its 11th year at TV LoungeSoul Clap and Paxahau ran the 11th edition of the House of EFUNK afterparty across two nights and three stages at TV Lounge over Movement weekend, with a new vinyl compilation premiering at the door.By Samantha · May 24, 2025

CitySpotlight
Temple Bar fell down and got back upA piece of Temple Bar's facade came down in May 2024. Seven months and a community fundraiser later, the Cass Corridor institution reopened.By Samantha · Dec 15, 2024