The Perennial Corktown apartment building at 1611 Michigan Avenue opened in late 2023 with two retail tenants on the ground floor. One was supposed to be Haraz Coffee, a Yemeni coffee shop that ultimately landed at a different Corktown address. The other was a bodega-style grocery store called Corktown Market.
By the time the doors actually opened on Friday, October 11, 2024, the grocery store had a new name. Rosette Market plus Cafe.The owners are Ahmed Alwhysee and Hadwan Hadwan. Alwhysee runs Kitab Cafe in Hamtramck with his wife Asma Almulaiki, plus the Midtown Market on Cass Avenue.
Rosette is the third location in their growing portfolio, all of which lean toward serving working-class and student neighborhoods. The bodega format matters because Detroit's grocery problem is acute. One in three Detroiters doesn't own a car, and most of the city sits at least a mile or two from a full-service supermarket.
The 7-Elevens and CVS pharmacies that fill the gap don't carry produce.Rosette stocks the produce. The store also runs an in-house deli with Boar's Head meats and cheeses, sells freshly ground La Colombe coffee, and stocks Zingerman's bread baked in Ann Arbor. The cafe side does sandwiches, breakfast, espresso drinks, and a small menu of prepared foods.
About 15 employees keep the place running.The hours run aggressive. 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday. 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The late hours come from Alwhysee's read of the neighborhood: Corktown's restaurant and bar crowd needs somewhere to grab essentials after work, and the Perennial Corktown residents themselves want a place to pick up dinner ingredients on the way home. Hadwan, a lifetime Detroiter, has framed the project as filling a real void in the area.
Corktown has been one of the city's most rapidly developing neighborhoods over the past five years, but residential growth outpaced retail by a significant margin. Rosette closes part of that gap. The fresh-baked bread and the sandwich counter give the place a cafe identity. The dry goods aisle gives it a bodega one.
Rosette Market plus Cafe, 1611 Michigan Avenue, Suite 200, Detroit.
