Selden Standard team to open upscale Mediterranean restaurant in New Center

The team behind one of Detroit's most celebrated restaurants is working on opening an upscale Mediterranean-focused concept in the burgeoning New Center neighborhood.

Selden Standard partners Andy Hollyday and Evan Hansen said they closed on the former Payless ShoeSource building at Woodward just south of Grand Boulevard about a month ago and are in the early stages of turning it into what will likely become one of the city's next hot dining destinations.

It's very early in development – demolition is just underway – and the as-yet-unnamed project likely won't open its doors until 2019, but the partners offered a few details on the planned follow-up to the Free Press' 2015 Restaurant of the Year.

"We do a lot of Mediterranean cooking here at Selden, but there's a lot more world cuisine so it's kind of all over the map," said Hollyday, who is also executive chef of the popular Midtown restaurant. "A lot of my cooking has been French, Italian, Spanish, so it'll be that and also some influences from the Middle East, Greece and Morocco."

The experience will be more upscale than Selden, too, particularly in the dining room where tasting menus will be offered.

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"I hesitate to use the phrase 'fine dining' because it conjures a very particular image," Hansen said. "I think stylistically it's certainly refined, but I wouldn't call it formal or fine. (Selden) has always been a little more rustic by design and very communal. This will be much more based on precision and elegance in the plating, the space itself and the service."

At 3,600 square feet, the place will be smaller, seating a total of roughly 90 between the dining and bar area. The restaurant is designed to do less volume than Selden, which should allow for a more methodical and controlled approach to the experience.

"There'll be a little more focus on how we're handling ingredients, the plating and composition of plates," Hollyday said. "This will be our interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine but still focusing on seasonal, local ingredients always. ... I'm not a real showy type of chef. I want things to be rooted in ingredients and techniques."

Price points will be a little bit higher as a result, but the separate bar area out front will feature a more casual vibe, echoing an experience closer to Selden's conviviality.

The building was originally constructed as a theater in the late 1920s and boasts a ceiling that soars nearly 40 feet high. And while the design is in the early phases of being worked out by the partners and Et al. architects (who also designed Selden), that unique feature will likely add a degree of drama to the dining room.

"We loved the building, first and foremost," Hansen said. "And we knew we wanted to be in Detroit again. There's a lot of interesting things happening in New Center."

In addition to the new project from Hollyday and Hansen, former Rose's Fine Foods partner Lucy Carnaghi is working on opening Wilda's across the street with New York-based, Huntingon Woods-bred chefs Eli and Max Sussman. The fast-casual Atomic Chicken opened earlier this year, and rumors abound about an out-of-town chef coming to take over the old Zenith space in the Fisher Building.

It didn't take more than a month or two after opening Selden before the partners began receiving offers of buildings to look at for their next project. Back then, Hansen said, it would've been impossible and foolhardy to take on another restaurant. But three years into Selden's run, the timing feels right for expansion.

"We have an amazing group of people that work here, including some people who've been here since the beginning, who are very dedicated to what we do," he said. "That allows us some more freedom and flexibility. So we started poking around about a year ago."

That dedicated staff is also a prime motivation for the partners' expansion.

"We have great staff and sometimes there's nowhere else for them to go," Hollyday said. "One thing we talk about all the time is providing opportunities for all the great people that are with us."

When it opens, Hollyday will focus on the new venture while still overseeing the culinary operations of Selden Standard, which will be led by chef de cuisine Nick Elswick.

Selden was a high-water mark when it opened three years ago, but the partners are acutely aware of how quickly the dining scene has evolved. Can lightning strike twice?

"There's lots of great options now," Hollyday said. "Evan and I are just excited to give people an experience that's tailored by us. I don't think three years ago we would've expected things to grow this quickly ... but we're excited to add one more option."

Contact Mark Kurlyandchik: 313-222-5026 or mkurlyandc@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mkurlyandchik and Instagram: mkurlyandchik.