Eli Boyer, a former partner in the popular Corktown restaurant, Gold Cash Gold, who now operates Voyager, a seafood eating spot in Ferndale, plans in early 2018 to open a new, fast-casual hamburger joint on Griswold and Grand River in downtown Detroit called "Loverboy."
Boyer, a Detroit native, who worked in the restaurant industry in Chicago before returning home, loves burgers.
"I'm a burger crazy person," he tells Deadline Detroit.
It's not lost on Boyer that downtown has its fair share of burger joints.
"There's a lot of national burger places here; Five Guys, Wahlburgers, Shake Shake. They're all good products in their own right," he says. "But there's not a place that's locally owned and operated."
He said he plans to use Michigan-grass fed beef and other local products, and his chefs from Voyager, just off of E. 9 Mile Road, are helping to create the menu and an "ideal burger we have in mind."
He said he'll serve fresh, hand-cut fries and alternative burgers made of veggies, poultry and fish.
The restaurant will offer counter service and a walk-by window, and serve alcoholic beverages including "boozy milk shakes."