The apparel company Born In Detroit's pop-up storefront officially opened Friday, kicking off a series of new retail options and activations in downtown Detroit ahead of the NFL draft.
The pop-up store, located at the former Moosejaw store across from the Shinola Hotel, offers Detroit-themed apparel such as T-shirts and sweatshirts, along with an expanded apparel line for women and kids, hats and glassware, among other products.
"We did this for the draft," Anthony Tomey, co-owner of Born In Detroit and CEO of The Tomey Group, said Friday before the official opening. "We want everyone to come in and go, 'Man, this city is beautiful.' Detroit does not get a great national reputation, obviously, so to be able to do that and show everybody what we're doing here and how we're doing things ... it just really makes me feel proud."
The 2,000-square-foot store, 1275 Woodward Ave., features furniture from Gardner White and can be rented out for private catered events. It will also host events, including athlete autograph signings, live radio broadcasts, podcast tapings and happy hours while it's open until April 30.
The Born in Detroit storefront is one of many spaces in downtown Detroit that will be activated, said Hassan Beydoun, group executive of economic development for the city of Detroit, who also was at the opening.
"Really, it's about bringing more businesses into town, showing what an investment in Detroit means and how it can pay off with the community," Beydoun said. "That kind of positive change is something that we've seen over the years but the fact that it's ramping up so quickly is what makes it particularly exciting."
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Tomey said he's looking at the pop-up as a "test run" for a permanent storefront.
"It could could definitely happen," he said.
The Born In Detroit brand and its sister company, 8 Mile Vodka, are owned by Tomey, Michael Tomey, George Bourkoulas, Alex Bourkoulas and Michael Shumaker, who were all born in Detroit. The company trademarked the "Born In Detroit" phrase in 2015.
The Tomey family also owns and operates The Tomey Group, which owns more than 50 Jimmy John’s locations across southeast Michigan and a Chicken Guy restaurant.
The Born In Detroit pop-up will be open every day from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and on Sunday from 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Born in Detroit pop-up store opens in downtown, could go permanent