Alpino sets sights on becoming ‘place where people want to be’
A former metro Detroiter and hospitality industry veteran opened the doors Monday of a highly anticipated European-inspired eatery in Corktown.
Alpino Detroit, from hospitality veteran and Rust Belt Hospitality owner David Richter, is Corktown’s newest spot. The restaurant, announced by Richter last summer, is on Bagley at the corner of Trumbull. It’s in the brick building with its well-known, cobblestone entrance that was previously home to chef Kate Williams’ Lady of the House restaurant. The location was also once home to the popular St. Cece’s Pub and, before that, Baile Corcaigh, an Irish pub.
Richter said the goal is to “build a culture, a place where people want to be.”
“It was important to be in a neighborhood and in a spot where someone could come in on a Tuesday after work.”
Richter, 49, a Sterling Heights native, returned to metro Detroit in late 2019 after two decades in New York City’s hospitality industry, wanting to be close to family. He lives here with his wife and 20-month-old son.
In New York, Richter had stints working for restaurateur Joe Bastianich and Cesare Casella, a chef and restaurateur with Tuscan roots. For 10 years before returning to metro Detroit, Richter worked as vice president of operations for City Winery, most recently based in Nashville.
With the new Corktown space, Richter said he feels a connection to the neighborhood.
His friend, Brian Mulloy, owns the building across from Alpino that houses Folk and Mink restaurants.
“Every time I came home from wherever I was living at the time, it’s where my jumpingoff point was, to go and explore the city,”
Richter said. “I wanted to have a place that felt like a neighborhood place.”
And Corktown, Richter said, is an old, established neighborhood.
“I knew that it had its roots and that it could automatically have a good following on the days where it does rain or maybe it’s in winter,” Richter said. “You’ve got folks locally who live there. It’s that population that can keep you afloat on the days when others aren’t coming into the city.”
Richter had floated the Alpino brand name around for a while, even while still in Nashville.
“The premise of Alpino is rooted in heritage and tradition surrounded by a community. The team at Alpino aims to cultivate a communal atmosphere centered around high-quality food, made simply, paired with excellent wine, music and hospitable service,” Richter said in a news release.
Alpino Detroit is all about inspiration rooted in ingredients and cuisines weaved together from countries along Europe’s Alpine Mountain regions. At the helm is chef Colin Campbell, a Milford native formerly of northern Michigan spots Pour Kitchen and Das Steinhaus.
On Alpino’s appetizer menu, there’s a selection of mountain cheeses served with Alpino’s house-baked bread, mostarda and nuts, and a charcuterie board with aged, smoked and cured meats, mustard and gherkins.
A highlight of Alpino’s appetizers is Raclette cheese from Leelanau Cheese Co. in Suttons Bay.
“They’re making cheese that really fits my brand,” Richter said.
Raclette is known for being melted and then scraped onto foods.
When guests order the raclette cheese menu at Alpino, chef Campbell explained, it’s served with its own special flat, spatula-like tool and a base that has tea light candles for melting the cheese. Pickled fingerling potatoes and gremolata accompany the cheese.
Alpino’s breads — sunflower and sourdough — are house-baked.
On the vegetable menu ($10-$16), there’s a German cucumber salad known as gurkensalat, a beet salad and a tomato soup. Main entrees ($14-$28) include pasta, rice and grain dishes such as pesto risotto and a Piedmontese ragu. There’s also veal cutlet wienerschnitzel, pan-fried walleye and gulasch featuring braised beef cheek.
Sundays at Alpino will be “Sunday Fondue Day.” The fondue ($28) features a pot of shareable cow’s milk cheese, melted with wine. It’s served with fingerling potato slices, gherkins and bread for dipping.
On the dessert menu is a chocolate fondue, served with amaretti cookie, fruit and pound cake; a rosette vanilla fritter, with strawberry butter; and Guernsey’s ice cream and panna cotta, with thistle honey, almond and Gruyere streusel, lemon curd and marigold.
Overseeing Alpino’s beverage program is Andre Sykes. He is no stranger to Detroit’s bar scene, as he was previously at Willow Detroit, Shelby Detroit and Oak & Reel. Alpino’s cocktail program is interesting, including its la vie en rose made with Chelsea’s Pink Norden Aquavit, mulberry-infused dry vermouth and orange bitters. Alpino will also serve European-style beer on tap and in bottles.
Alpino’s wine offerings include those by the glass and bottle and some on tap. To start, Richter said, they are offering about 70 wines, with most under $60 a bottle.
The 3,200-square-foot main restaurant
dining space will seat 80 with additional seating at the bar. Outside is a 1,500-square-foot outdoor patio expected to open later this month that will seat about 50 people.
There’s also an additional 3,000-squarefoot basement, which is currently being remodeled. When open, the basement will be available for private events and will have seating for 74 on busy nights, Richter said.
Alpino’s main dining room features warm wood-toned décor and design inspired by European countryside farmhouses in a communal setting. A stone fireplace is the main focal point of the dining room. Above the fireplace is a painting of an Alpine cow with a flowered crown — Alpino’s logo. It pays homage, Richter said, to the tradition throughout the alpine regions celebrating the safe return home of farmers and their livestock before winter. Richter said he worked with a local Detroit designer on the Alpine cow logo.
Richter said they’ll soon be booking music acts to perform Tuesday evenings after work. Plans are to feature blues, bluegrass and Americana music.
While Alpino Detroit opens daily at 5 p.m. for dinner service, Richter said plans for lunch and weekend brunch are further down the road.
Alpino is at 1426 Bagley at Trumbull in Corktown. Hours are 5-10 p.m. MondayThursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday. For reservations, visit alpinodetroit.com or call 313-524-0888.