On its current trajectory, Plum Market would open two Detroit stores by mid-2019.

The Farmington Hills-based specialty grocer and food service company announced plans a year ago to open a cafe and market this spring in the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center in the New Center area. And earlier this month it said it signed on to open in the Ally Detroit Center skyscraper downtown in the summer.

The two Plum Market Kitchens won't be full grocery stores. The location at the Ally center, owned by Dan Gilbert's Bedrock LLC, will sell "basics" such as condiments, bags of tortilla chips, cut fruits and vegetables, and possibly select seasonal produce, Plum Market co-founder and CEO Matt Jonna said.

Plum Market Kitchen is a small-format spin-off of the full organics-focused grocery stores with which the company started. It has Plum Market Kitchens at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Oakland University and Northwestern University north of Chicago.

"An emphasis on prepared foods is a big thing for all of them ... (What) kind of spurred these small formats, for us, is we see a niche in the market. Our prepared foods departments are popular in our large format stores," Jonna said. "We see a need for what we do on the prepared foods side in locations like the Ally center in Detroit."

The 8,000-square-foot "street concept" store, set to open in the Ally building at 500 Woodward Ave., would have a cafeteria with hot meals, salads, sandwiches, soups and sushi. It'll also have a full-service bar with wine, beer and liquor; a coffee bar; fresh-cut flowers; and Zingerman's baked goods.