More growth is ahead for a nine-year-old Corktown success.
"Slows Bar BQ has signed a lease to open a restaurant in the former Strand Theatre in downtown Pontiac, Kirk Pinho writes at Crain's.
The restaurant plans to be in three counties by late 2015.
That late 2015 thrust into Oakland County will give the restaurant a three-county presence after its Grand Rapids debut at a Downtown Market complex, planned for spring.
Co-owner Phil Cooley tells Pinho the Pontiac site will have up to 150 seats in the former Strand Theater on North Saginaw Street, undergoing a $21-million upgrade.
Cooley . . . said he was drawn to Pontiac because he was "blown away" by economic development in the city and the restaurant is "ready for this kind of growth."
"I was in love with Detroit when I moved here, and I feel the same way about Pontiac. There is a lot of sensationalism about Detroit -- and about Pontiac."
He and chef Brian Perrone opened Slows' Michigan Avenue flagship in 2005. Joined by new partners Ron Cooley and Mike Metevia, they added a 6,000-square-foot Midtown takeout branch at 4107 Cass Ave. in December 2010.
