The reception area . Photo credit : Nicole Franzen |
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brand will feature some shopping opportunities , but Parker ’ s Alley — constructed in the void beneath its four-story bridge — is innovative .
Named for Thomas Parker , an ex-slave and one of Detroit ’ s first free Black landowners , the retail space is both a local business showcase and an opportunity for thriving startups to have their own brick-and-mortar retail space .
Parker ’ s Alley features a variety of travel-adjacent products and purveyors including the jewelry company Rebel Nell and Madcap Coffee , which also brews coffee for Shinola ’ s various F & B outlets .
Along Woodward is a full-size Shinola store , as well as The Lip Bar , a one-time Parker ’ s Alley inhabitant run by “ Shark Tank ” alum Melissa Butler that was so successful it needed its own storefront .
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the NFL draft , Shinola Hotel hosted its fifth anniversary with an exclusive ticketed dinner event open to the public . Presiding over the menu were executive chef and managing partner of Shinola Hotel , Cory Barberio , and Andrew Carmellini of NoHo hospitality , both Michigan natives .
The hotel has become as much for natives as visitors . A
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rotating lineup of DJs perform for the public every Tuesday night , while event spaces like Bixby Hall and the stunning rooftop atrium The Birdy Room have become in-demand wedding venues .
But Bedrock ’ s mission isn ’ t finished just yet . Roost Detroit , another Bedrock property , was named to Travel & Leisure ’ s “ Top 100 New Hotels of 2024 .”
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But without Shinola , Leber said , this Detroit of the future might have stayed a daydream .
“ Shinola paved the way for a lot of interest in the market in the city ,” he said . “ People have not thought of Detroit as a travel destination and they really should . There is something special happening here , and more people need to experience it .”
The storefronts of Parker ’ s Alley . The alley is an homage to Thomas Parker , a free black man who became one of the first black landowners in Detroit .
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DETROIT ’ S LIVING ROOM On May 14 , just weeks after |
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July / August 2024 hotelsmag . com 83 |