Lodging

We do not suggest choosing a hotel in downtown Detroit, which is likely overpriced, overbooked, and hard to park at. We suggest staying in hotels or Airbnbs in neighboring places – Dearborn, Southfield, Novi, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Farmington/Farmington Hills.

Here is a link to a few Airbnb options that we haven’t personally vetted, but that seemed pretty good in terms of location, pricing, and quality. Best case scenario would be for people to stay together in some concentrated hotels or Airbnbs and share car rides. Sorry we can’t take on organizing this, but luckily T’s community overflows with organizers…

A few restaurant and bakery suggestions

* Black-owned

• Baobab Fare*
• The Block* (reservations suggested for sure)
• Estella’s Pop-Up Cuisine & Bakery* (Vegan)
• Fork in Nigeria*
• Island Spice Caribbean*
• Sweet Potato Sensations*
• Ruby Lee’s* (in Lathrup Village)
• Avalon Bakery (on Willis St)
• Sister Pie
• Saffron DeTwah
• Modern Greek and Salad Bar (nice outdoor seating; in Dearborn)
• Warda Patisserie
• Coriander Detroit
• ima
• Pink Garlic Indian Cuisine (in Oak Park)
• Rose’s Fine Food and Wine (this name is misleading… it’s a diner)
• New Yasmeen Food and Bakery
• Momo Cha (this is located inside the Detroit Shipping Company, a restaurant collective that also includes good Caribbean and Thai options. This place is the ultimate hipster haven, though, so if that’s an issue for you like it was for Thomas, take your food to go!)

Places to go/Things to do

To hang out:

• Detroit Rosa Coffee* (previously Public Square) – 19180 Grand River Ave, 48223
• SpotLite Detroit
• Trinosophes
• HM Style Lounge and Chill Room*
• Eastern Market (on Saturday morning starting at 7 am or for Sunday market 10 am – 4 pm; beautiful chaos but/and you’ll need time & patience to park)

Independent Bookshops:

• Source Booksellers*
• Pages Bookshop
• Book Suey Co-Op in Hamtramck

For unique shopping and gifts:

• Mama Coo’s Boutique*
• POST Detroit
• The Rust Belt Market in Ferndale

Museums:

• Norwest Gallery of Art
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
• Detroit Institute of the Arts
• Arab American National Museum

Family friendly:

• Detroit Farm and Cider*
• Belle Isle
• Detroit Zoo
• Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve (in Southfield)
• Michigan Science Center
• Heidelberg Project

Helpful things to know about navigating Detroit

• If it takes 10 minutes somewhere else, it takes (at least) 30 minutes here. Don’t be mad. Be prepared.
• Don’t trust what the website says. Call and make sure they’re open. Don’t trust a recorded message. They are only open if a human being answers the phone and tells you so.
• It’s hard to get around without a car. We suggest renting one, and preferably sharing that rental with a small group to help each other get around. There is no reliable public transportation infrastructure yet. If you’re using Uber or Lyft, see bullet point #1. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time.
• Several restaurants are still doing carry-out only, so don’t count on seating unless you call and ask.
• If using DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, etc. we suggest choosing the “schedule delivery” option and ordering at least an hour in advance.
• Wherever you roam around this city, there are stunning murals and graffiti art on buildings everywhere. We hope you and yours will keep your eyes peeled as you drive and move around. My current favorite is The Spirit, by Waleed Johnson, on the side of a storage building on the corner of Mack and VanDyke on the east side. It’s near the Boggs School if you want to check it out.