Katoi Chef Brad Greenhill's promise to "rise again from the ashes ... with a vengeance" is nearing realization as his team works toward a projected Aug. 28 public opening of Katoi 2.0.

It's been a long six months for the crew of the Thai-inspired restaurant, who found themselves suddenly displaced after a suspected arsonist torched the celebrated Corktown hotspot in February just days after it was named a semifinalist for the Best New Restaurant category of the James Beard Awards.

"The first month (after the fire) I was feeling more like a FEMA operative than a chef," Greenhill said. "I think we're all just ready to re-open. I wanna say it's like riding a bike, but it feels different a second time."

It will likely feel different for diners, too.

The first thing even casual passersby will notice is the 16-foot-high chain-link fence that now surrounds the entire building. Greenhill said this was actually planned before the fire as a way to separate the outdoor dining area from busy Michigan Avenue, but the added security measure is an added bonus.

In addition to the fire, Katoi had been broken into numerous times before.

"We want people to be in a nurturing environment," said Katoi co-founder Courtney Henriette. "When you're inside the fence you feel like you're in a different place. You feel like you're in a sanctuary.

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"Also, there's the logistics: We have a lot of cooking equipment outside."

Added Greenhill: "We're kind of going to treat it as a canvas. What becomes of it is to be determined."

A shipping container that used to be attached to the east side of the building – the entry point for the February break-in that led to the fire – has been moved to the front and will now act as an annex to the busy bar, with seating for an additional 16 people. It will also house the DJ booth and connect the interior to the new outdoor patio, which features lounge-style seating, live trees and pea gravel.

Greenhill said the patio will be a more casual environment with a limited street-food-focused menu and walk-up counter service.

"We're hoping that people who don't want to wait for a table can go hang out on the patio and get a bite to eat and a drink if they want," he said.

The layout and feel throughout the bar and dining room remains largely the same, but the seating has been rearranged slightly and the upholstery has changed.

The menu, too, has undergone some changes. In the months since the fire, the Katoi crew has popped up all over town and cooked during a two-month-long residency at Frame in Hazel Park. This offered plenty of opportunities to try new menu items, many of which will appear when the restaurant re-opens. About half of the menu is a holdover from Katoi 1.0, but the other half will be completely new, Greenhill said.

The expanded footprint also means that the staff has grown, though roughly 80 percent of the original employees remain, according to Greenhill. Bar manager Drew Pompa, who left for Philadelphia months before the fire, is back in his original position.

"I feel the best I've ever felt because each time we do this we keep having more people to do this with," Henriette said, noting that Katoi began with three people working out of an immobile food truck. "It feels really magical."

Still, there are plenty of new kinks to work out and the first group of diners to be treated to Katoi's relaunch are the city's firefighters and police officers.

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"They all have hard jobs – especially the police in this day and age," Greenhill said. "With things like break-ins and arson and all the other things that go on in Detroit, they don't have an easy job and I think it's important to acknowledge that."

In the week leading up to the public opening, Katoi will offer free food to any fire or police officers who work in the city. The restaurateurs will be circulating a special reservation link to local departments, but questions on how to reserve a seat can be directed to Courtney Henriette via email: courtney@katoidetroit.com.

When it opens to the general public, Katoi will also offer limited reservations for the chef's tasting experience via Tock, which allows diners to purchase "tickets" in advance. The chef's tasting is $65 and an optional beverage pairing will be available for $35. Look for that link to go live via Katoi's social media channels soon.

Meanwhile, the restaurateurs have been hatching plans for their next project, which has been under wraps until now.

Philip Kafka, the third partner in Katoi with Henriette and Greenhill, is plotting a food and beverage-focused development in the Grand River and Warren area near the Architectural Salvage Warehouse.

Those plans include a commissary kitchen, a coffee roasting operation, a public green space and a new restaurant helmed by Greenhill & Co. inside the old Magnet Radiator Works building on Grand River.

Greenhill said he plans to call the restaurant Magnet and is aiming for a spring 2018 opening.

And though the concept at Magnet is still to be determined, it won't be another Katoi.

Opening that restaurant twice is enough.

Katoi

2520 Michigan Ave, Detroit

(313) 855-2864 and katoidetroit.com

Free food for Detroit firefighters and police officers Aug. 21-24

Re-opening to public Aug. 28

Dinner only Monday-Saturday

Contemporary Southeast Asian-inspired shared plates

Reservations via TOCK for chef's tasting; a la carte menu for walk-ins only

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