Liquor Shortage in Michigan Causes Headache for Local Bars and Restaurants #DetroitFood

Michelle and Chris Gerard

Plus, Da Nang in Clawson closes its doors

Michigan booze shortage

Metro Detroit bars and stores are facing shortages of liquor due to trouble with one of the state’s three licensed liquor distributors, Republic National Distributing Company, WWJ reports. Bars including J’s Penalty Box in Ferndale say their regular deliveries are arriving late, causing the businesses to run out of certain top-selling booze. Bar manager Pam Stigall of Ale Mary’s Beer Hall in Royal Oak tells the Detroit Free Press she’s been placing liquor orders weeks in advance in an effort to avoid delays and is still experiencing problems.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission in a release says it has put the distributor on notice that it needs to come up with a plan to resolve the issues, which have been attributed to problems with a new computer system. “We are holding RNDC accountable on how they plan to fix this situation for our licensees,” MLCC chair Pat Gagliardi says in a statement. “It’s our priority to ensure our licensees have their shelves stocked for the public, especially in advance of the holiday season.”

Another Clawson closure

After 10 years in downtown Clawson, Vietnamese restaurant Đà Nẵng has closed its doors permanently. The shutter was confirmed by the Clawson Downtown Development Association. The restaurant is one of several businesses in the city to close in recent months, including Black Lotus Brewing Company.

Olga’s Kitchen adds more fast-casual outposts

Metro Detroit chain Olga’s Kitchen is in the process of converting some of its locations from table service to a counter service, fast-casual format, according to the Detroit News. The limited service restaurant format is known as an Olga’s Fresh Grille. The first location was piloted in Royal Oak and there are plans to convert the Troy location to the fast-casual format next year.

Weird restaurant calendars

Detroit ramen restaurant Johnny Noodle King is slated to release a restaurant calendar for 2020 called “Tasteful Noods,” featuring noodle-related photos of staff. The proceeds from the calendars go to support Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control.

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