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TAP at MGM Grand Detroit Slated to Open This Week
9/18/2012
MGM Grand Detroit, the city’s premier entertainment destination, announced today that TAP at MGM Grand Detroit will have its grand opening at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20. TAP is an eclectic sports-themed restaurant offering handcrafted beers, traditional pub fare and Midwest-inspired comfort food.
“We’re thrilled to see the vision for TAP come to life,” said Steve Zanella, general manager of MGM Grand Detroit. “Our food and beverage experts have put together a menu that guests will find very satisfying. We have high-quality beer -- many from Michigan brewers -- signature drinks and delicious food. Our designers have created an interior that’s reminiscent of the city’s early days, yet hip and modern, and celebrates our great sports teams with museum-quality collectables. It’s a recipe for a good time.”
TAP’s beverage menu features a year-round curated collection of more than 30 beers on tap, including a selection of Michigan craft beer favorites and popular domestic and imported brews. TAP’s craft beer flight will offer four choices for guests to sample together. More than 30 bottled beers also will be available, along with TAP’s own specialty drink menu featuring regional seasonal wines and spirits.
A dynamic collection of sports memorabilia will be artfully displayed in the new establishment’s comfortable and casual environment. The collection includes authentic artifacts from Detroit’s baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams, and other sports traditions such as hydroplane racing, wrestling and boxing, along with preserved news stories, and local collectors’ personal keepsakes. Rare period photographs also were procured for the restaurant from the archives of the legendary Lindell AC, America’s first sports bar that regularly drew visiting professional athletes, hometown heroes, sports fans and media personalities to its downtown Detroit locale for nearly 40 years until it closed in 2002.
The knockout bout between Jake LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson at Olympia and the Detroit Lions players’ moment of silence on the field after President John Kennedy’s assassination are just two examples of the one-of-a-kind images guests will find at TAP.
Melissa Jensen, a 12-year beverage operations veteran, has been named TAP’s manager. She previously oversaw beverage menu development and day-to-day management at the property’s multiple beverage concepts. Her work has earned Forbes Four Star recognition for MGM Grand Detroit’s beverage team.
Chef Fershone Steen, who will lead food menu development and oversee the kitchen staff, brings more than 20 years of culinary experience to TAP, including leadership roles at popular high-volume and high-quality eateries in the metro area and the Midwest such as Bonefish Grille, Buca di Beppo and Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
After exhaustively researching local and national restaurants, iconic sports pubs and stadium dining venues, Steen and his culinary team have unveiled a menu that celebrates historic downtown Detroit dining establishments and serves up a modern twist on pub classics. Highlights include the delicious TAP Classic Burger, savory six-, 12- and 18-piece wings, and comforting fried mac-and-cheese sticks.
The new restaurant’s design concept captures the city’s industrial age with interiors made of concrete, wood and steel. Pressed tin ceilings and reclaimed wine barrel tables add to the distinctive ambience of the innovative space, created by architect Rainey Hamilton and interior designer Richard McCormick of Detroit-based design firm Hamilton Anderson.
The heart of the venue is the large bar, inspired by vintage lockers and old world bottles, according to the designers. The dining rooms’ 292 seats also accommodate private dining for 100. The kitchen, situated near the bar, will establish a connection with guests, allowing them to watch as chefs prepare soon-to-be favorite menu items.
Music and sports enthusiasts will gather for game-day viewing on TAP’s more than 40 HD flat-screen televisions. Complimentary Wi-Fi will allow guests to stay connected. Families with children will enter the venue through an entrance in MGM Grand Detroit’s hotel lobby.
Regular hours of operation at TAP at MGM Grand Detroit are 4 p.m. – 2 a.m. Monday – Sunday. Lunch is available at 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday – Sunday. During football season, TAP will open at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
About MGM Grand Detroit
The only Forbes Four Star hotel and spa in Southeast Michigan and AAA Four Diamond Award-winning hotel, MGM Grand Detroit is the city's first and only downtown hotel, gaming and entertainment destination built from the ground up. The hotel features 400 chic and stylish guest rooms, including nine rooftop VIP suites and 56 opulent corner suites. Guests enjoy signature restaurants by Michael Mina, one of the world’s pre-eminent celebrity chefs, casual restaurants, lounges such as a relaxed piano-style bar, high-energy nightlife, and the only resort-style spa in Southeast Michigan. More than 30,000 square feet of meeting space hosts everything from large corporate events to intimate black-tie affairs. MGM Grand Detroit is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM Resorts International™ (NYSE: MGM). For more information, visit www.mgmgranddetroit.com or call toll free at (888) 646-3387.
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