Detroit's legendary Avenue of Fashion has a new hot spot -- Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles, which began serving Tuesday morning.
The entrepreneur behind it is former Detroit Lions cornerback Ron Bartell, whose NFL career from 2005-12 began with the St. Louis Rams and also included nine months with the Oakland Raiders.
MJ Galbraith of Model D Media describes the city native as "an ambitious owner looking to make an immediate impact on the Livernois commercial corridor north of 7 Mile and its surrounding neighborhoods."
Bartell knows Detroit's northwest side well. He grew up near Greenfield Road and Outer Drive and graduated from Detroit Renaissance High School in 2000.
Bartell first acquired [four] buildings along Livernois for development purposes. Soon, though, Bartell decided that he wasn't content with sitting back and collecting rent. He wanted, as he says, to put his money where his mouth was and help develop a commercial corridor that could use a push. . . .
Bartell wants to show that Detroit is still a place where African American entrepreneurs can thrive. He's hoping, too, that his attention to detail, design, and quality of product and experience will inspire other businesses to up their game.
Kuzzo's starts its "soft launch" with breakfast and lunch hours. Sandwiches and burgers also are on the menu.
Evening service is planned after a Feb. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony that Mayor Mike Duggan plans to attend, publicist David Rudolph tells Deadline.
Galbraith describes the design as "clean and contemporary."
A wall display define "kuzzo" as an endearing word for a friend or relative -- "someone of a kindred culture, race or nation."
In the Model D interview, Bartell describes his vision for the neighborhood as part of Detroit's revival:
"Hopefully we're successful and it shows people that they can be successful over here, too. Hopefully it's a spark that brings other businesses around here, whether it's other diners, restaurants, lounges.
"This area needs so many different things yet can support so many different things. I hope this really shows that in order to be successful you don't have to go downtown or Midtown. You can actually stay in the neighborhood and do good business and hire people and service the community."
-- Alan Stamm