Echelon Kitchen & Bar is preparing to move from its wood-fired food truck to a 7,000-square-foot in Ann Arbor in early 2025.
The restaurant focuses on delivering a “hyper-seasonal” menu with products sourced from Michigan farms and companies. The site was scheduled to open last year but moved to a food truck to generate interest in the restaurant as the group dealt with construction delays.
The “vegetable-forward” restaurant will change its menu based on the seasonal availability of ingredients. That also includes a selection of Michigan-produced craft beverages from the state’s brewers, winemakers, and distillers.
“Michigan has a rich tradition of hunting, fishing, growing, and foraging, but the culinary landscape hasn’t yet received the recognition to celebrate that,” says Joseph VanWagner, executive chef, who noted Michigan is the second-most agriculturally diverse state in the U.S.
“All our food in Michigan goes to the best restaurants in markets like Chicago and throughout the Midwest region, so we’re excited to spotlight the incredible bounty of local ingredients at our fingertips at Echelon.”
The new restaurant is located at 200 S. Main St. with the interior featuring a three-sided bar and dining area with a chef’s counter allowing patrons to watch the activity in the kitchen. The kitchen centers around the restaurant’s signature oven, according to Echelon, which will be used as a platform for cooking over an open flame producing with flavors enhanced by a wood-fired finish.
The 7,000-square-foot venue was designed by Anne Faherty of Chicago-based Faherty Interiors, which also handled the designs of Joe Muer Seafood in Nashville, Truli Italian Eatery in Florida, and Agadir Moroccan Restaurant in Abu Dhabi.
The group also is offering mentorship opportunities at local schools, culinary competitions featuring local talent and new initiatives to benefit their staff, including a “Well Being Fund” that provides additional monthly support to non-tipped workers.
The restaurant also aims to reshape what the industry can be by fostering a new era of care for working parents and women in the hospitality industry, officials say.
