Restaurant and bar moves into downtown

Restaurant and bar moves into downtown

Social Kitchen & Bar opened in Birmingham in 2012 and features an open-kitchen concept. Photo via fb.com

A restaurant serving “refined comfort food” and an "extensive" craft beer, wine and cocktail menu is moving into the downtown scene.

Chef and restaurateur

The Grand Rapids Downtown Market said this afternoon that it has partnered with Zack Sklar, a Detroit-area chef known for restaurants such as Social Kitchen & Bar in Birmingham, as well as Mex and Beau’s, which are both located in Bloomfield Hills.

Sklar will open a Grand Rapids location of Social Kitchen & Bar inside Downtown Market’s Market Hall, as well as a satellite location of his catering company, Cutting Edge Cuisine.

Construction on Social Kitchen & Bar Grand Rapids will begin this summer, and the restaurant is expected to open in August.

Social Kitchen & Bar Grand Rapids will feature a casual ambiance with a menu that’s expected to change with the seasons, using vendors from the Downtown Market’s outdoor farmers market and indoor Market Hall.

The restaurant is expected to be open for brunch, lunch and dinner.

The Cutting Edge Cuisine catering service will focus on large events, as well as small parties and casual menus.

 “Zack is committed to creating an everyday restaurant at the Downtown Market, where you can grab lunch on a Tuesday and then come back for date night on Saturday,” said Mimi Fritz, president and CEO, Downtown Market.

The original Social Kitchen & Bar opened in 2012, on Maple Road in Birmingham.

Sklar said Downtown Market was selected for its inviting atmosphere, following careful consideration.

Market Hall occupancy

The first restaurant to join the Downtown Market, Slows Bar-B-Q, was announced last fall and is under construction.

Downtown Market also announced last year the addition of the Grand Traverse Distillery tasting room, which opened last November.

“With the addition of Social Kitchen & Bar, the Market Hall is more than 90 percent occupied and filling in fast,” Fritz said.

Market Hall opened over Labor Day weekend in 2013, with nearly all of its vendors in place, but without two promised restaurants.

Fritz has repeatedly noted the importance of waiting for the right tenants to fill those two important slots.