"It's the view of the old school, that we need to block other people and make sure that other businesses don't open," said Aaron F. Belen, 32, principal at AFB Hospitality Group, which opened Bistro 82 and Sabrage lounge in Royal Oak last year. "That's just a small-minded view of someone who doesn't want to compete and invest in their people and their business. What's going on with the rebirth of Detroit is a wonderful thing for Oakland County, Wayne County and the region."

The chefs themselves are excited to have more diners in Detroit, whether they are coming for their restaurant or a friendly competitor's.

"I hope Selden Standard brings someone's eyes down here," said Eli Boyer, one of seven partners in Gold Cash Gold. "I hope we bring eyes to our neighbors, likeand. We all bring more people."

The partners spent the past two years and $1.9 million renovating a 125-year-old building at Michigan Avenue and Wabash Street and turning it into an 80-seat restaurant with six apartments above. The previous tenant was a pawnshop and the building façade called out "Gold Cash Gold" in giant block letters, lending the new restaurant its name.

Chef Josh Stockton comes to Detroit from Las Vegas and envisions the restaurant as a "neighborhood joint" — that's the common theme among all these new restaurants — that uses in-season ingredients and rotates the menu regularly. He breaks down his own hogs, which he buys from his dad in Tennessee, and cans and pickles produce to capture the tastes of summer into the low-winter-sun months.

"We want to create an experience, not just a great meal," said Boyer, showing off the interior of reclaimed wood and stained glass.

As more restaurants open, however, some will have to elevate their game to compete and new players will have to refine their concept and execution.

"I think the reality of the situation is that when neighborhoods are redeveloping, the businesses and restaurants, of which we have many long-standing ones, have to step it up," said Sue Mosey, president of"Everyone has to step up their game."

For example, this yearclosed its doors inside the Park Shelton building across from the, and now Chartreuse Kitchen is opening in its old home.

Sandy Levine, the owner ofcocktail bar in Ferndale, is building out the new restaurant, which will have a small, rustic menu verging toward New American. The concept comes from necessity: The kitchen is small and has no walk-in freezer or cooler, so everything will be fresh and brought in that morning.

"It's hard from a kitchen perspective, but it'll be great for guests," said Levine, who started working in kitchens at age 11 as a dishwasher in his grandparents' deli.

Levine always wanted to have a joint in the city. He even tried to open The Oakland in Detroit but couldn't find a space. Either it was too expensive or it required too much rehab. So when he saw the open airiness of the Park Shelton, he knew it was finally time to commit — despite paying double the per-square-foot rental rate that he pays in Ferndale.

Levine plans to open in the spring and is excited to come into a dining scene with so many new chefs. After all, he said, "a dozen and a half restaurants have opened, and sales at The Oakland are up 13 percent to 15 percent since last year."

Being down the street from HopCat Detroit won't hurt either. The new 700-seat brewpub opened Saturday with 130 beers on tap and a gallery of artist murals on the exterior walls. There is a cult-like following of Grand Rapids-based HopCats, of which there are six — and Mosey sees that as a good thing for Detroit and businesses like Chartreuse and Selden Standard.

"A lot of these places coming in already have big brands, so they are bringing in a lot of people who wouldn't be coming anyways," Mosey said. "So they are building a new market. But it's important that we continue to build residential and keep building the market for these places."

Grand Rapids isn't the only out-of-market investor in the city. Denver-based Punch Bowl Social decided this was the perfect fourth location for the gastro-diner chain, which has spots in its hometown as well as Austin, Texas, and Portland, Ore. (Piece of trivia: Both the Denver and Detroit operations are located on Broadway Street.)

The newly opened Punch Bowl is a 24,000-square-foot food-and-games palace on the first floor of thedowntown. PBS employs 150 people and is open breakfast through bar-close seven days a week. CEO and founder Robert Thompson expects 2,000 people to come through the doors on weekend nights, drawn by the food, cocktails and games, from bowling to marbles.

"I get six calls a week from national real estate developers trying to get us to bring a Punch Bowl Social to their development," said Thompson. "Most of them are vanilla projects with a meaningful economic upside. But we're not shooting for that right now. We're looking for the jewels in the rough."

Dan Gilbert's Bedrock team was one of those phone calls. They managed to entice Thompson to Detroit, and when he arrived, he knew within three hours that there would be a deal. He liked Detroit and was taken with the idea of being on the ground floor of a 1,300-car parking garage that's full every day at 9 a.m.

"It was a mix of both gut and economics," Thompson said.

That, said Mosey and others, is a vote of confidence for Detroit and its future. For Dan Mullen, vice president of leasing and development for Bedrock, PBS is an ideal anchor for downtown Detroit. The company is actively seeking out businesses — local, national and international — that will be destinations, that can't be found elsewhere in the region.

"Our vision is creating these amazing blocks of real estate that is really charming," Mullen said. "We want to work off the architecture and block by block provide a different type of experience."

The company has been focused on restaurants but says retail isn't far behind in its master plan for the nearly 60 buildings that Gilbert owns. The company is currently pursuing a number of popular retailers. Asked if one might, perhaps be, anstore, Mullen laughed and said, "I would love to have an Apple store downtown."