Michigan & Trumbull Brings Square Pizza and Dive Bar Vibes to Corktown #DetroitFood

Michelle Gerard | michellegerard

The anticipated pizzeria aims to open this month

After months of pop-ups inside Fort Street Galley, promising new square pie shop Michigan & Trumbull is putting the final touches on its Corktown restaurant and bar. Owners Kristen Calverley and Nate Peck are both metro Detroit natives who grew up eating square pan pizzas from places like Jet’s and Buddy’s and decided to recreate that cheesy experience together at Federal Galley in Pittsburgh. In January, they’ll finally settle into their very own restaurant space just a stone’s throw from the intersection that inspired the business’s name.

Tucked into a former garage between Michigan Avenue and the new Elton Park development at 1439 W Elizabeth St., Michigan & Trumbull is designed to feel like a dive bar hideaway. Brad de Vries of Five/Eighths architecture firm oversaw the design and build out of the pizza bar. “We wanted it to have a lived-in feel on day one that people kind of wondered how they never knew about this place,” de Vries says.

De Vries and his team worked with Woodward Throwbacks to source worn-in materials for Michigan & Trumbull and to build custom tables for the 66-seat space. The walls of the pizzeria feature wood paneling from a former partition wall at a middle school gymnasium. Each panel includes carvings and graffiti from students. The back bar incorporates tarnished mirrors and a variety of different four-by-four inch tiles. Fixtures including the lighting and toilets in the restrooms are intentionally mismatched. The concrete hostess stand features a terrazzo-style look that’s supposed to gently remind customers of pizza and is cordoned off from the rest of the dining room by an old liquor cage. The best part: Michigan & Trumbull features a rooftop patio, which will eventually house a second bar for secluded outdoor drinking.

Calverley and Peck’s menu is already well-tested at this point. The pair have carried over many recipes from their original restaurant at Federal Galley and temporary residency inside Fort Street Galley. “This is essentially the greatest hits,” Calverley says. Diners can expect options like the Cadieux E Pepe with mozzarella, garlic, parmesan, and cracked pepper and the Bagley Chorizo with mozzarella, chorizo, pickled red onion, and cilantro ranch. There’s also an $8 build-your-own vegan pizza with unlimited veggies.

Beyond pizza, Michigan & Trumbull will offer items like fried calzones referred to a Boblo Boats, barbecue-spiced Teader waffle fries, and salads. The partners have also expanded their repertoire with several roasted vegetable sides to balance out the pizza and fried food-heavy menu.

Michigan & Trumbull is still awaiting one important inspection before it can set an opening date. Calverley says the establishment may initially open without a liquor license due to delays with that process. In the meantime, the couple is continuing to offer Sicilian slices under a new name, Square Peggy’s, inside Fort Street Galley. With the success of the slices, Calverley says they may introduce a pizza-by-the-slice option during lunch and happy hour.

Photographers Michelle Gerard and Jenna Belevender took a tour of the completed space ahead of the anticipated opening. Take a look around the restaurant in the gallery below and stay tuned for more details when Michigan & Trumbull sets a date.