Bucharest Grill says it must leave downtown location

Robert Allen | Detroit Free Press

One of the most popular places to get a shawarma in downtown Detroit says it's being forced to move.

"This is not our choice," Bucharest Grill owner Bogdan Tarasov said. "I know there's a lot of disappointed people."

The fast-casual Middle Eastern restaurant, currently operating inside the Park Bar at 2040 Park Ave. near the Fillmore Detroit, will move to a shopping center in the 2600 block of East Jefferson, east of downtown, by the end of February.

Tarasov said he was given notice of the move about three months ago, as the landlord has other plans for the space.

Tarasov looked at moving to other spaces downtown, but it wasn't feasible as leasing rates were "extremely expensive," there weren't enough parking options for employees and a convenient carry-out location was needed, he said. He also didn't want to raise prices. A chicken shawarma at the restaurant is $4.99, according to the Bucharest website.

The Park Bar location is where Bucharest Grill got its start in 2006. It's become a destination for people going to Tigers and Lions games or concerts, as well as nearby residents. Many nights, the line of people waiting in the relatively small carryout space overflows into the bar area.

"We've had a lot of success over there," he said. "We've built our name. Everything starts from that corner."

He said there are perks to the new location, which will take up about 2,500 square feet of the 10,000-square-foot former Lucky's Pub and Grille. There will be seating for 75, more space for carry-out and free parking. But the restaurant will not have a liquor license. The move could occur as soon as late January.

Bucharest now has three locations, all in Detroit. There's one at 1623 Michigan Ave. in Corktown, and another that opened recently at 110 Piquette St. in New Center.

Tarasov said he has about 100 employees, and about 60 of them work out of the Park Bar location. With the recent expansion in business, he plans to have 120 employees in early 2016.

The Park Bar didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but did address the situation on its Facebook page.

Contact Robert Allen: rallen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @rallenMI.