DTWNews

This summer, a slew of new restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues are set to open throughout Downtown Detroit, further solidifying the area’s status as a destination for the millennial crowd.

According to the Detroit Free Press, many of these new hot spots will be located in The Belt, a street-art-lined alley beside downtown’s Z parking garage. The Belt’s creators plan to make their vision of a unique outdoor entertainment and nightlife destination a reality starting in early September.

Developer and gallery owner Anthony Curis — along with partners Brendon Edwards, Joe Robinson and David Goldman — will open The Skip, an outdoor bar recessed into The Belt’s alley wall, and Standby, a stylish, upscale cocktail bar and restaurant, by Sept. 1.

Outdoor bars like The Skip are never a bad idea — one recent Study Hall Research survey revealed that 43% of diners aged 25 through 34 will spend more on drinks served at outdoor bars. And The Skip and Standby are just a small slice of The Belt’s eventual offerings, Curis explained. In the future, the alley will become home to even more shops, restaurants and live entertainment events.

“We fully intend to make this a much larger project,” Curis said. “There are a lot of little puzzle pieces that we’re trying to connect, each one being something that’s really unique — something for everyone.”

Outside The Belt, Metro Detroit’s newest craft brewery, ROAK Brewing Company, opened its cozy, yet undeniably glam and modern, taproom at 330 East Lincoln on Thursday, July 18.

The 80-seat tap room arrives just a few months after ROAK Brewing Company first began brewing and bottling its first drafts of beer, which is known for being distinctly hoppy. The company’s Live Wire IPA continues to be its most popular brew, reports MLive.com.

“(Sales have) totally exceeded our expectations,” co-owner and president John Leone said.

With places like the pedestrian-friendly offerings of The Belt and ROAK Brewing Company’s craft beer palace, there’s no shortage of places for Detroit residents to check out on the weekends all summer long.