A new Black-owned restaurant in Detroit deems itself as the city’s ” freshest socially-distanced outdoor dining experience.”

EastEats is a collection of heated geodesic domes set up in an empty lot in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood, founded by Kwaku Osei-Bonsu, Nygel Fyvie Dr. Lloyd Talley–who wanted to bring community dining to the city. The venue space was purchased for $100 thanks to the city’s side lot program and was built it less than three months.

“EastEats was inspired by the need for dining spaces that offered people the opportunity to connect safely within a pandemic. It was also born out of the need to address land usage in the city of Detroit,” the co-founders told Travel Noire. “The name of our establishment, EastEats, is meant to symbolize bridging the Eastside of Detroit with the Eastern Hemisphere. Our food is supposed to make you ask questions. Learn something from everything that you do. Take a bite out of something new.”

Both the dinner and brunch menu features items such as bao, customizable tacos, street corn, and fried doughnuts for dessert.

Photo courtesy of East Eats

Every menu item is named after an influential person from Detroit’s recent or historical past, including Aaliyah, John Witherspoon, Della Rose, Ruth Ellis, and more.

“We hope that people will walk away with a wider perspective of what is possible in our communities. By erasing the overhead of buildings, we create more opportunities to start businesses without the onslaught of debt that it usually takes to procure a building, re-outfit it and prepare it for business,” the co-founders told Travel Noire.