New retail food offerings at Cobo Center inspired by Detroit

DETROIT – Guests at Cobo Center events may want to come for the show and stay for the food with the debut of the Detroit Made Kitchen – four new food shops featuring Detroit-inspired dishes and locally sourced ingredients.

Burgers made with Michigan grass-fed beef, pierogis and kielbasa from Hamtramck, coney dogs, Detroit-style deep-dish pizza, and fresh deli fare are featured at Detroit Made Kitchen, which will be open during public shows at Cobo beginning with the 2014 North American International Auto Show.

The Detroit Made Kitchen concept is the creation of Cobo’s hospitality partner, Centerplate, and the food inspired by Executive Chef Jamie Miller.

“Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or snacks, eating at Cobo Center will taste more like home,” said Jason Hougard, Centerplate’s general manager for Cobo. “The reinvention of Cobo is more than skin deep. Now you can love it with all of your senses.”

Local, healthy and natural ingredients highlight the Detroit Made Kitchen menus at Cobo. The food and beverage offerings will be sourced from well-known suppliers specializing in natural products. The fare includes dill pickle soup, city “chicken,” Dudek’s pierogis, Kowalski kielbasa, Dearborn franks, and produce from Eastern Market.

All items will be made fresh daily and seasonal produce will be sourced locally. There will be
gluten-free foods, fresh vegetables, and more healthier-for-you options than ever before in Cobo’s retail dining space.

The shops are nestled just inside the new main entrance to Cobo at the foot of Washington Boulevard. The new 8,000-square-foot Cobo Center kitchen lies between the food shops and the new 40,000-square-foot Grand Riverview Ballroom, a key feature of Cobo’s $279 million capital improvement project, which was 80 percent complete at the end of 2013.

About the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority:
The Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) was created in 2009 to operate Cobo Convention and Exhibition Center in Detroit under long-term lease from the City of Detroit. The DRCFA Board of Directors is comprised of five representatives selected by the Governor of Michigan, the Mayor of Detroit, and the county executives of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties. The DRCFA receives funding from revenues at Cobo Center as well as support from the state’s Convention Fund. For more information, visit www.DRCFA.org