After a soft opening in early August, Joe Louis Southern Kitchen, an all-day breakfast and brunch spot, celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, Aug. 22, with owners, Detroit officials, and other dignitaries in attendance.
At 1528 Woodward in the heart of downtown Detroit, this spot marks the second Detroit location for Joe Louis Southern Kitchen and the third overall. Late last year, a location opened in Southfield. The chain's first restaurant opened in 2021 in Detroit’s New Center on Woodward.
Joe Louis Southern Kitchen pays homage to Joe Louis Barrow, known simply as “Joe Louis,” the legendary boxer. Offering an all-day breakfast menu, the restaurant also features brunch dishes and many southern-style dishes.
Originally scheduled for a spring
opening on Woodward, a few-minute walk from downtown sports and cultural venues, the restaurant is known for its key lime flapjacks, Creole shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles.
With a menu touted as comfort food, there’s a selection of omelets, breakfast skillets and bowls featuring catfish and grits and salmon croquettes. There are also soups, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and salads.
Inside the 4,000-square-foot space is a tribute to boxing, with photos and milestones of Joe Louis’ legndary career.
Of the three locations, this is the first with a full bar that's expected to begin serving cocktails and other alcoholic beverages soon. There's also an outdoor patio.
In a very emotional and passionate speech – often through tears – Joe Louis Barrow II, one of three sons of the legendary Detroit boxer Joe Louis and co-founder of the Joe Louis Southern Kitchen, along with Johnny Cannon, spoke of the restaurant chain as one that fate built at the grand opening.
“The Joe Louis Southern Kitchen began with a simple idea: introduce my father to a generation I believe could greatly benefit from knowing him,” Barrow said. “Not simply the fighter or the champion but the man.”
Kicking off the grand opening speeches, Barrow spoke of his famed father, born into poverty in rural Alabama who moved north with his family as part of the Great Migration. He championed his father for breaking barriers inside and outside of sports, and serving as a “symbol of hope not only for Black Americans but for America itself and for democracy around the world.”
Barrow and Cannon brought the idea to open the restaurants, wanting to continue telling the story of boxer Joe Louis.
“But we didn’t want to build a museum," Barrow said. "We wanted to build something alive, a place where history could sit down beside the future. A place where people could gather, break bread, share stories and discover how much we have in common, and Joe Louis Southern Kitchen was born,” Barrow said.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield took to the podium and spoke of Joe Louis’ connection to Detroit and this new restaurant in the heart of the city serving as another celebration of his Detroit story.
“Nobody loves Joe Louis like Detroit,” Sheffield said. “His name is synonymous with this city. His strength, determination and fighting spirit reflect so much of what we know and love about Detroit.”
Joe Louis Southern Kitchen downtown seats more than 100 people and is spacious. Inside, it is bright and different from the front porch-style aesthetic of the New Center location. There are tributes to Joe Louis throughout the restaurant.
Barrow told the Free Press that they expect to reach a whole new clientele downtown and have plans to franchise.
“We have been kind of doing corporate stores right now,” Barrow. “We want to do probably 10 corporate stores, but we've got people who are already reaching out.”
Co-owner Johnny Cannon told the Free Press they’ve invested “a pretty penny” in opening this location.
“We really took a building that was just brick walls. It was an office space,” Cannon said. “It was a pretty penny put into space that I think would be worth its weight in gold.”
Since its soft opening, Cannon said customers have been loving it.
“And so, every dollar spent has been well worth it,” he said.
Joe Louis Southern Kitchen, 1528 Woodward Ave., Detroit, is open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Once the bar opens, the restaurant expects to have late-night hours, 7 a.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and feature DJ entertainment.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SusanMariecooks. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for insider scoops on food and dining in metro Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Joe Louis Southern Kitchen opens in downtown Detroit on Woodward Avenue
