How did you source materials?

For the exterior I had glazed tiles made that were reminiscent of the originals, some of which were still on the building. I had new doors built with a ziggurat design popular to the period. I found the original facade plans later, but felt that my design was still pretty true to history, with the limestone and slate patterns we created. But I also went to antiques and estate sales, driving back and forth between here and New York. I found the bar in Pennsylvania, and it fit nearly perfectly in the space where I had envisioned it. There was a lot of synchronicity I can’t explain. The case I found that we plan to put the oysters in fit exactly where I wanted it to, and I found old wooden flip seats from a railway depot that fit in the ladies’ lounge space. The glass ceiling in the bathroom I found in Detroit, as well as most of the refurbished wood and the lights, some of which used to be in the old Hudson department store here.

The space has a contemporary feeling as well.

A lot of artists have been involved with the refurbishment. My girlfriend, Katie Westgate, made these lamps out of porcelain that are now draped with knitted chain by Monica Hofstadter, a textile designer. The frescos on the walls were created by Paul Seftel with ground-up rocks and oxidized metal in a new take on ancient Egyptian processes. The chairs were custom made by Real OK and the poured cement tables by EM Studios, both design firms in the neighborhood.

Why is it called Antietam?

It is the name of a nearby street that used to run from here to Black Bottom, a once-thriving black neighborhood that was demolished in the ’60s. The restaurant’s name is a homage to that Black Bottom community.

You have a received local press for this project, and there’s been some national attention, too. Are you concerned that Detroiters will resent the spotlight on another white-owned, high-end establishment in a city that is 82 percent African-American and struggling with economic challenges?

I grew up the only white 3-year-old in a nearby black neighborhood with a single 19-year-old mother. I am not just another white hipster who has recently moved here. And I will fail in this project if I don’t express the demographic of the city. I sent a memo to my staff recently telling them how important it is that they hire a diverse staff. My goal is that all the locals will come here. I am going to have $1 oysters and affordable happy hours hoping that everyone will feel they can experience Antietam.