'World-class' restaurant to replace Coach Insignia

Coach Insignia, the fine-dining restaurant atop the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, will be replaced with another restaurant after its lease expires.

"Riverfront Holdings, Inc. will seek to bring a world-class restaurant to the 71st and 72nd floors of the GMRENCEN, when Coach Insignia’s lease expires on February 28, 2017," said a statement from the building's owner, a subsidiary of General Motors.

The upscale chophouse that has occupied the space since 2004 will close to the public February 18th.

“We are currently exploring options to offer our visitors an unrivaled experience in this premier Detroit space," said Claudia Killeen, General Motors' manager of Renaissance Center Development, in the statement.

The RenCen is home to 29 diverse eateries, including the fine-dining Andiamo Detroit Riverfront and Joe Muer Seafood. Granite City Food & Brewery, which opened in early 2016, was the latest high-profile addition to the building's dining options.

►Related: La Rondinella closing to make way for Supino expansion

►Related: Two Michelin-starred chef trades Chicago for Detroit

Eric Djordjevic, president of the Epicurean Group hospitality company that operates Coach Insignia, said the landlord wasn't interested in working further with the 13-year-old restaurant.

"We would’ve certainly welcomed the opportunity to renegotiate a new term," Djordjevic told the Free Press Monday. "Unfortunately, I think at this time Coach Insignia was not the brand that they envisioned using the space.”

For their part, all 60-some staff members will have a job for them at the forthcoming Nomad Grill in Southfield, which will be operated by the Epicurean Group.

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