Life in Midtown
This section includes some of our favorite destinations around Midtown. We hope you'll enjoy them as much as we have!
Places to Eat/Drink/Socialize
Roughly in order by proximity to the Department Offices. (Coffee/Tea options listed in the next section.)
- The Potato Place--Salads, Sandwiches, Stuffed Potatoes (they're as big as your head), CASH ONLY, call ahead to order because they get busy (vegetarian options available)
- Epicurus, 111 W Warren Ave --American fare, pizza by the slice
- Olympic Grille, 119 W Warren Ave--Breakfast and American fare
- Ima Noodles--Ramen, pho, and other Asian/Asian-fusion items
- Byblos--Mediterranean and Middle Eastern (vegetarian options available!).
- Shangri-La --Cantonese, Thai, sushi, dim sum
- Cass Cafe--full bar, American food.
- Campus Diner, 5470 Cass Ave--Breakfast and American fare
- Al Basha Subs - pitas, subs, salads
- Common Pub * $5 burger, fries, and beer Happy Hour (vegetarian options available!)
- Seva (Vegetarian/vegan) *happy hour 1/2 price appetizers, wine, beer
- Go Sy Thai--Casual Thai, (vegan/vegetarian options)
- Treat Dreams--ice cream/desserts
- Alley Taco--Mexican take-out, inside Marcus Market
- Pie-Sci Pizza - gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options available
- Motor City Brewing Works--oldest craft beer establishment in Detroit, beer brewed on-site. Excellent seasonal food menu specials, also pizza, salad, appetizers.
- Jolly Pumpkin--Michigan-based brewers. Serves pizzas, salads, appetizers.
- Traffic Jam and Snug--American/pub, vegetarian options, opened in 1965
- Bronx Bar, 4476 2nd Ave--older, divey-er bar. Less divey since the hipsters found it a few years ago.
- HopCat--huge selection of local, national, and international beers. Addictive fries.
Places to Study/Read/Write
- WEGO Writing Collective -the writing collective provides space, snacks, feedback and camaraderie for graduate students as they work on projects. You're welcome to use the space for reading, grading, or other kinds of work--it doesn't have to just be writing. Dates, times, and locations are announced on the WEGO listserv (which you'll be automatically added to) and their Facebook page (linked above).
- Humanities Center Dissertation Writing Series
- Purdy Kresge Library (PKL)
- Undergraduate Library (UGL)
- Maccabee's 10th Floor Lounge
- Starbucks Coffee: in Barnes & Noble, or the Student Center, or along Anthony Wayne Drive.
- 2nd Floor of Manoogian Hall, 906 W. Warren Ave - this entire floor has small tables with plugs that are the perfect size for sitting with a laptop and cup of coffee to get work done; the building can be busy and loud between classes, but is generally pretty quiet otherwise
- The Student Center - the newly renovated Student Center offers lots of places to plug in (including charging centers with multiple adapters), good WiFi, and gender neutral restrooms on almost every floor; the 3rd floor tends to be the most consistently quiet and accessible area in the building for quiet writing, reading, and studying
- Upper floor of the Detroit Public Library
- Fourteen East Cafe
- SoCRA Tea
- Bottom Line Coffee
- Great Lakes Coffee
- Avalon International Breads--bakery that also serves coffee, open since 1997, has patio tables
- Cafe DIA/Kresge Court
Groceries/Necessities
- Marcus Market, 4614 2nd Ave
- University Foods, 1131 W Warren Ave
- Whole Foods, 115 Mack Ave
- CVS, 350 E Warren Ave
- Rite Aid, 4612 Woodward Ave
- University Pharmacy, 5254 3rd Ave (aka Anthony Wayne Dr.)
Midtown Sights
Midtown Sights
Art & Architecture
- Art Walk (Self-guided campus tour of public art installations)
- Detroit Public Library
- Wayne State's McGregor Memorial Center, DeRoy Auditorium, College of Education, and Prentis Buildings (designed by Minoru Yamasaki)
Arts & Entertainment
- Cinema Detroit - independently owned and operated, non-profit theater with free parking
- Detroit Film Theatre - located within the DIA, offer student discount with ID
- Detroit Symphony Orchestra (their student ticket program is excellent)
- Hillberry and Bonstelle Theatre - tickets can be bought individually, but season passes and packages are also available; Wayne State employees can enroll in a payroll deduction plan to pay for tickets as well
- Trivia Nights in the D - Sporcle hosts a ton of trivia nights at bars and restaurants in Detroit and surrounding areas, some of which have awesome prizes!
Museums
- Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
- Detroit Historical Museum
- Detroit Institute of Art--free admission to people from Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.
- Michigan Science Center
- Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit: MOCAD
- N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art
Shopping
- Barnes & Noble (if you spill coffee all over your shirt, a WSU tee from their clearance rack is going to be your fastest and cheapest replacement option)
- The Peacock Room
- Frida
- Bob's Classic Kicks
- City Bird (good for Detroit souvenirs)
- Nest
- John King Books (not technically in Midtown, but not far away!)
- Source Booksellers
- Third Man Records (owned by Jack White)
- Vault of Midnight (not in Midtown, but this is the closest comic book shop to campus; they occasionally host cheap or free events, as well)