Detroit: Our Voyage

We just couldn’t keep away – so shortly after our cold, rainy October outing to Eastern Market, we returned. This time it was 70+ degrees and vsunny (hey, Detroit is in Michigan). Perfect outdoor market area – but we spent much of our time indoors at the stores around the main market area. We fell in love with some great places to shop.

Rocky Peanut Company – Back in 1931 Jack Russo began selling produce door to door. His sons, Rocco (Rocky) and Dominic Russo expanded their father’s business to include roasting nuts (one of their first clients was Tiger’s Stadium). Soon business was booming so they built a shop in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market district. Their current location on the corner of Russell and the Fisher Freeway Service Drive is on the site of the family’s original produce shop. 

We didn’t even have to open the door to enter this amazing shop. There was a worker who stood at the door to hold it open for us, welcome us to Rocky’s and hand us a basket for our shopping. So we walked in and well… sing-say it because there are no words… “Aaaaah” candy and peanuts galore! We were in awe. This store has every kind of nut known to man. They offer blanched, blanch sliced, blanched slivered, raw, roasted (no salt), roasted (with salt), honey roasted, natural sliced…and that is just almond varieties! Honestly, I can’t even list all the nuts offered at this place as I was just so distracted by how many there were! Basically, this is the place to go for almonds, peanuts, cashews, pecans and anything else “nutty”. They have very reasonable prices too! (Always a great bonus 🙂 )

Don’t limit this place to just peanuts and almonds though, they have a great bulk candy corner that looks like an old candy shop, a grocery section with spices and grains and a coffee shop. Make sure when you make a stop at Eastern Market to put this place on your list!

Savvy Chic – Tucked away next to all the produce, flower and meat vendors, we were surprised to stumble upon Savvy Chic on Riopelle St. Little did we know the treasure we were about to find! We were immediately met with the aromatic scent of candles that brought us into a realm away from the city streets. We found  everything from furniture,  home decor, clothes, and cards. Each piece is unique and all made in the United States and some of them locally in Detroit. With beautiful weather like we had today, there were neat little treasures all out on the street. It is here that Jessica found the perfect completion to her living room with a classic, antique end table (at only $20!). This little boutique is a great blend of the old with the new. It is absolutely a must explore for yourself next time you visit Eastern Market!

Eastern Market Antiques – This store is a dream come true for those that are into antiquing. Over 20 vendors have spread out their wares in this old building. The second floor is so much fun to explore – it just seems to keep going, and going and going. In true “antique” fashion, the old wood floors are creaky, the old paint in some places is pealing off and be sure to watch your step on the stairs –  they are steep and get wet (due to a leak) if it rains. These “problems” all add exceedingly to the charm of this place and just make it more endearing and fun to explore. If you like fishing through boxes and piles in search of a treasure you are sure to find one here somewhere. Even if you don’t particularly like antiques you should drop in and look around!

R Hirt Jr. – Now this place is cool! Founded in 1887 by Rudolf Hirt Jr., this store has been in continuous operation  for over 120 years – and this place hasn’t changed much since it opened (in a good way!). Walk in the front door and it looks like you have been transported back in time, solid dark wood floors, wooden shelves stuffed with groceries and an elevator that is about as old as the building itself. This General Store has three stories of goods, but most of the merchandise is on the first and third floor. Here is a quick walk through:

First Floor: As you haul open the big old door directly on the right is a big counter, this is where you check out and also where the extensive cheese and deli counters are located. Cheese is what this store is known for and if you plan on getting some here make sure you know exactly which kind you want as there are over 300 different kinds of cheese. Three hundred! That means you can have a different kind of cheese every day of the year up through October – and we all know cheese is amazing . . I mean, is there anything that cheese doesn’t go with? This is the place to stock up on cheese. There is also a wide variety of many other groceries, and again all with a very old-fashioned feel. Forget Cracker Barrel – this is the real deal! (Also take note of the very old bikes on display above the groceries – some dating back to the time the store was founded, it’s like a mini-bike museum in there)

Second Floor: You won’t spend too much time here as most of this floor is storage (the second floor was the home of the original Hirt family). There are a couple of things on display but mostly you just round the corner and continue to climb to the third floor.

Third Floor: The third floor is just plain fun. Old fashioned toys, more decorative wicker than you can ever hope to see in a lifetime, and a great gift/housewares section that changes with the seasons. We were there in October so the place was covered with “fall” items. They also already had some Christmas items on display. Heidi and I both decided we are doing all of our Christmas shopping at this store – there is a gift for everyone here (even for yourself!) There is just too much up here to even describe so I won’t even try. What do you imagine an old, family operated, where-everybody-knows-your-name store would be like? Well it’s like this R Hirt Co. is that store. Unchanged by time, you can step back into it for a great all-around experience. If you do nothing else on your next trip to the market make sure you stop into this store!

Sidenote story: So while at R Hirt Jr. Heidi was using my camera to take pictures and for some reason she decided to set it down somewhere in the store (probably to play with one of the cool toys we found on the third floor, but anyway. . . ). She left the camera, I had no idea she didn’t have it and we continued on our merry way. We walked through some other stores, meandered through the entire market place again and ended up at my car where I wanted to take a picture of Heidi’s absolutely HUGE head of broccoli she bought for $2. It was then that I realized I didn’t have my camera – and Heidi realized she didn’t have my camera.  We walked the 3 blocks back to the store where we last had it and I was certain my camera was lost forever (with all of our great pictures!). Heidi was trying to be positive, but who was she kidding! She set the camera down in a store filled with wall to wall shoppers adjacent to a market with thousands of people filling bags and baskets. Well we got to the store and – Someone had turned it in! My camera was sitting in the front office waiting to be claimed. So let this be a lesson to all of you that are convinced that Detroit is just a hotbed for crimes of all kinds 100% of the time – my camera survived the streets of Detroit all alone and wasn’t pilfered. (And of course Heidi was thrilled that she didn’t have to buy me a new camera . . . 🙂 )

Moral of this visit: Every time we go to Eastern Market it is a brand new, fun, exciting adventure. We could go on and on about the other places to shop in this area, such as Gratiot General Market (aka the “meat market”) and the Germak Pistachio Company, or the many cafe and restaurant options that include Roma Cafe, the oldest Italian Restaurant in the city – but perhaps another time. There is so much to see just in this place alone – but we have more of Detroit to discover!

Bon Voyage

Next Post: John K King Bookstore and Mudgies!