The Detroit Street Filling Station, a vegan eatery located in Kerrytown that began serving its meals in August has already drastically changed their concept.
The Filling Station is the third vegan eatery Phillis Engelbert and Joel Panozzo have opened since their first brick-and-mortar operation in 2013, which is located just across the street in Kerrytown Market and Shops.
The Filling Station recently closed briefly, and beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 28, it shifted its menu and concept to become more similar to the original Lunch Room. Now, the restaurant has the same style of service as The Lunch Room, where you place your order at the counter. They also swapped out their white tablecloths for tabletops.
Along with the change of setting within the restaurant, there has been drastic change to the menu and hours of operation. The new menu is described as “casual, wholesome, interesting & delicious plant-based food and drinks. Plenty of gluten free options! There is also a bakery case full of mouth-watering treats; and a curated collection of beer, wine & craft cocktails.” The restaurant will also now be open Tuesdays through Saturdays for lunch and dinner from 11am to 9pm, and for brunch on Sundays from 10am to 3pm.
Engelbert and Panozzo are also interested in hosting special nights to add to the fun and casual atmosphere of the new space. They would like to have the restaurant as a space where people can help organize or host their own special nights, whether it be a private event, like a graduation party, or a public event including but not limited to poetry readings, art exhibits, book groups, and vegan singles mixers.
To celebrate the re-opening and presentation of the new concept on Tuesday, the restaurant hosted local artists Drew De Four and Kin Curran, who performed from 6-8 pm, and donated 10% of all sales to the Youth Justice Fund.
The Lunch Room LLC recently co-founded the Youth Justice Fund. The YJF is a charitable organization whose mission statement reads, “The Mission of the Youth Justice Fund (YJF) is to assist returning citizens, sentenced as youth to a term of imprisonment, with services and resources necessary to ensure human dignity and full participation in their communities.”
The Detroit Street Filling Station plans to hire newly freed youth and has already committed to hiring two individuals expected to return this winter. The Filling Station also plans to also support the YJF by donating 10% of all sales made on Tuesdays and 10% of all barbeque tofu sales.
Along with the Filling Station’s involvement with the YJF, they are deeply involved with Dawn Farm’s Recovery is Good Program. They currently employ 25 individual in recovery. “We have been there to help them celebrate one year clean, and we have been there when they relapse.” Wrote Engelbert and Panozzo in a Facebook post. “We have even taken employees into our homes. It has been our greatest joy to see someone put their life back together and succeed.”
Engelbert and Panozzo wrote a letter to the community in response to heat the company had recently come under for letting eight employees go after months of not turning profit on their newest venture. “The need to reduce costs at our newest venture had been apparent for the last couple of months,” wrote Engelbert and Panozzo on the Detroit Street Filling Station’s Facebook page. “While Detroit Street Filling Station had some great nights and guests enjoyed incredible food and service, the sales were not enough to pay the bills.” Engelbert and Panozzo knew that if they didn’t try something new, they risked losing the entire company.
The Filling Station and the Lunch Room LLCs other locations are self-described living-wage employers. They provide employees with health and dental insurance, paid sick days, retirement benefits, a fitness allowance, and a bus pass.
As the Filling Station settles into its new concept it’s hoping to build a community — not just a restaurant. With the revamped atmosphere and a menu inspired by The Lunch Room, Engelbert and Panozzo are ready to transition the Filling Station back to their roots and “the identity that guests have loved since day one.”