New coffeehouse planned for Holbrook in Hamtramck

A new Hamtramck coffee house, Café 1923, will open in mid-September.

Partner Sean Kowalski’s great-grandfather Paul Zukowski constructed the yellow brick building at 2287 Holbrook in 1923 and opened up a local candy store / corner grocery and soda shop. The younger Kowalski moved into the upstairs apartment while in law school and fell in love with the building.

“It was like finding an old car in a barn, nobody had messed with anything, too much,” says Kowalski. He decided, with his partner and wife, Armen Gulian, and friend, Shannon Lowell, to keep things the way they were and open up a coffee house. An antique coke chest sits in the corner and the coffee bar features original legume drawers where dry goods were kept.

The 2,000-square-foot coffee house has an outdoor patio and two areas to relax. The second room, where the soda shop used to be, has a large wall mirror, just like the soda shop and the original, built-in wall shelves.

Café 1923 will serve baked goods from Traffic Jam’s bakery as well as coffee and espresso drinks. The coffee house hours are still being determined, but Kowalksi said they’ll be open early to late. 

Source: Sean Kowalski, Café 1923