In time for grilling weather,
Red Rock Downtown Barbecue, a new barbecue and beer restaurant, is on the verge of opening in the former TC's Speakeasy at 207 W. Michigan Avenue in downtown Ypsilanti.
"We found TC's foreclosed, so we decided to come in and help make a turnaround in the city," Owner Shawn Cool says.
The restaurant is not officially open, but has held private word-of-mouth events and previews over limited hours for the last couple of weekends, says Cool. A firm opening date has not yet been set, but he's aiming for around the second week of April, after about 25 new staff members have been trained.
The interior of Red Rock has been completely redone. "The only thing left is the structure ... We literally took everything out of it that was TC's and stripped it down to the bare brick, hardwood floors," Cool says. "We put archways in the walls to connect the two sides, wrapped the bar around so it's a big horseshoe-shaped bar with a copper top, then remanufactured the existing mahogany bar rail." The all-tile bathrooms and utilities are also completely new, he adds.
The restaurant will feature 20 beers on tap, 12 of which are Michigan-made, and the focus will be on local menu ingredients to the maximum extent possible, according to Cool.
Source: Shawn Cool, owner, Red Rock Downtown Barbecue
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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