Nostalgia is in the air in downtown Ann Arbor and soon it will be served hot on plate with a side of delicious when Pretzel Bell returns to the center of Tree Town.
Three University of Michigan alumni are resurrecting the storied restaurant from the mid 20th Century in the old Lena space at the corner of Main and Liberty streets. The trio want to bring back their memories of what the restaurant was like when they graduated from U-M in the 1950s-60s-70s.
"It's going to be a throwback restaurant," says Jon Carlson, manager & owner of Pretzel Bell. "It's going to have a feeling of a restaurant from the 1960s and 1970s."
The new Pretzel Bell will occupy 8,000 square feet of space that housed the Latin-inspired Lena and Habana, both of which are supposed to close after this weekend. Carlson declined to elaborate too much on what the new/old restaurant will look like or what the menu will taste like, but he he did says it will draw upon Ann Arbor's past and its close proximity to the University of Michigan and its athletic heritage.
"It (the old Pretzel Bell) has an amazing feel at the time," Carlson says. "It has a huge connection to the university and the city."
The new space will have room for 240 seats. The new restaurant is set to open this spring, and Carlson plans to release more details about it within the next month.
Source: Jon Carlson, manager & owner of Pretzel Bell.
Writer: Jon Zemke
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