A downtown Detroit space that has hosted a revolving door of restaurants in recent years is set to be reimagined again, this time as Javier’s Downtown — an upscale restaurant and bar that the owners describe as a “Latin-fusion steakhouse.”
Javier’s is located at 1452 Brush St. near the city’s Harmonie Park area, in the building that held the former Le Culture Café, which closed in 2022. Before that, the 5,000-square-foot space was home to Asaysia, a New American-themed shared plates concept.
Owner Brian Hanna, who comes from experience in the bar industry, and general manager Theo Oresky, a long-term Detroit restaurant manager and operator, worked together on the menu and say they hope to eventually bring a chef on board to further develop it.
“In Detroit there’s restaurants popping up almost every other week, or every week,” Hanna says. “There’s steak houses, there’s burger spots, there’s Mexican places. So we just wanted to have the right twist and theme that basically is unique in its own way, not compared to everybody else.”
Oresky describes the vibe as if “you went to Cozumel or you went to Acapulco and you said, ‘Hey, take me to the best steakhouse in town.’”
Everything on the menu is made from scratch, and includes twists on Mexican favorites like quesadillas and burritos, as well as steakhouse fare like bone-in ribeye, lamb chops, and crab cakes.
When it comes to alcohol, Javier’s is heavy on tequila, naturally.
“You name a tequila, we got it,” Oresky says.
“We have bottles of tequila at $2,000 that are sitting on our shelf,” Hanna adds. “So we got something from $10 to $2,000.”
The bar program also includes curated cocktails and alcohol-free mocktails.
The space’s renovated interior sports an upscale vibe with an attached lounge dubbed the Agave Room, which is lit up with color-changing LED lights. “You’ve got the marble floor, and you’ve got wonderful wood-top tables, and you’ve got such beautiful chandeliers with highlights of gold and essence of silver,” Oresky says. “It’s really quite stunning.”
The owners say they plan to bring in live music on select days.
The restaurant quietly opened in recent weeks but celebrates its grand opening on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m. followed by a private VIP afterparty in the Agave Room. The restaurant is open to the public.
With Javier’s located near Detroit’s sports stadiums Ford Field and Comerica Park, as well as cultural institutions like Music Hall and Opera House, the owners say they are hopeful in drawing a diverse audience.
“We are in the heart of the entertainment district, so we also want to make it also feel that, if I’m going to the Lions game, I would feel comfortable enough to go there,” Oresky says.
“Our theme is more like, you know, hey, come have good food, have good drinks, and then maybe stay after and party with us,” Hanna says, adding, “The thing is to feel welcome here.”
