The 38-story Book Tower building, built in 1926, was once the tallest structure in Detroit, and now—thanks to a recent $400 million renovation by real estate and development firm, Bedrock — the building is the talk of the town once more.
Over the course of seven years, Bedrock turned the Book Tower building into a mixed-use destination and brought in Philadelphia-based Method Co. to create and run the building’s restaurant concepts. Method Co. is the group behind Philadelphia restaurants Wm. Mulherin’s Sons and Hiroki, as well as The Pinch in Charleston, S.C., and The Quinn in Wilmington, Del. This is Method Co.’s first project in Michigan.
“Our team has fallen in love with Detroit, and it has been an opportunity of a career to play a part in writing the story of Book Tower’s next 100 years,” Randall Cook, CEO and co-founder of Method Co., said in a statement.
The first phase of restaurants debuted in late summer, with Le Suprême, a Parisian-inspired brasserie; and Kamper’s, an upscale rooftop bar and lounge.
Le Suprême is 6,200 square feet and has seating for up to 210 guests across the dining room, bar and patio. There’s also a 24-seat private dining room. The concept is currently open for dinner and weekend brunch.
The dinner menu features oysters, shrimp cocktail, and seafood towers, as well as starters like steak tartare and a wild mushroom tart. Larger plates include boeuf bourguignon, pepper-crusted beef tenderloin au poivre, steak frites, moules marinières, and trout amandine. The brunch menu brings salads, sandwiches, omelets and quiches to the table. Breads, pastries and desserts are made in the restaurant’s in-house boulangerie and patisserie.
Le Suprême’s bar offers traditional absinthe service and also features a craft cocktail menu and a selection of more than 300 champagnes and wines.
Head up to the 14th floor and you’ll find Kamper’s, which is named after Louis Kamper, the original architect of the building. The indoor lounge features French doors that open to the rooftop for city views alongside dinner and drinks. The Barcelona-inspired menu is stocked with pintxos (Basque finger foods) and tapas, and drinks include gin and tonics, highballs, sangrias, wines, and sherries.
Le Suprême and Kamper’s are both overseen by culinary director Brinn Sinnott, who formerly worked as chef de cuisine at Le Diplomate in Washington D.C., and as the executive chef and culinary director for Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants.
Three more Method Co. concepts will open at Book Tower later this winter: Bar Rotunda, Sakazuki, and Hiroki-san.
Bar Rotunda is a 70-seat all-day cafe and bar that’s inspired by the grand cafés and hotel bars of early 20th-century Paris. The space’s eye-catching centerpiece is the restored 100-year-old glass dome that’s dotted with thousands of jewels. Once open, the cafe will serve breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks, with a French-influenced menu of coffees, fresh pastries, small plates, wines, and cocktails.
Sakazuki is a casual sake pub that will serve Japanese sandwiches, sake and beer; while Hiroki-San is an izakaya and omakase-style dining offshoot of Method Co.’s Philadelphia restaurant, Hiroki.
