30 | JULY 4 • 2024 
J
N

Cafe Prince
M

ake it a “Great 
Morning” by enjoying 
a cup of Cafe Prince’s 
fresh mint and chamomile tea. 
Or order up “Brain Energy,
” a 
homemade chai 
latte; bright green 
“Organic Matcha,
” 
with cucumber; 
“Cacao,
” topped 
with maple-
whipped cream 
or fresh-squeezed 
orange juice. If 
you prefer coffee, 

the cafe has you covered with 
hot drip, cold brew and espresso 
varieties.
The nutritious eating style of 
Israeli proprietor, Arad Kauf, 32, 
is reflected in his from-scratch 
menu at the Detroit-based cafe. 
In addition to hot and cold bev-
erages, he’s created an array of 
vibrant, meatless dishes, some 
of them changing. His offer-
ings incorporate high-quality 
ingredients, including grains, 
oat milk, dairy, nuts, fruit and 
vegetables. Among the custom-

er favorites is his handcrafted, 
Neapolitan-style “Wednesday 
Pizza” (the only day you can get 
one).
“It’s simple, honest food 
that you could do yourself,
” 
Kauf said, but it’s so great that 
he does. The cafe opened on 
March 1 last year in Core City. 
That’s the name of a burgeoning 
Detroit neighborhood located 
about a mile southwest of the 
Wayne State University (WSU) 
campus via Warren Avenue. It 
is also about two miles north of 

the newly renovated Michigan 
Central Station. From Oakland 
County, take the Lodge Freeway 
to the Forest-Warren exit and go 
west on Warren to 16th Street.
Cafe Prince’s name comes 
from Prince Concepts, president 
Philip Kafka’s local real estate 
development and architecture 
firm. Kafka is doing a remark-
able job — I saw the before — of 
remaking a formerly nonde-
script area of approximately 
750,000 square feet into Core 
City. It’s on the northwest bor-
der of Detroit’s Corktown and 
Woodbridge neighborhoods. 
Prince Concepts erected a 
2,200-square-foot brick build-
ing, The Power Plant, at 15th 
and Warren for entrepreneurs to 
rent space. Besides Cafe Prince, 
with its address on Grand River 
near 16th Street, the eclectic 
businesses include Core City 
Fitness, Periodicals and Ben 
Newman’s Detroit Institute of 
Bagels (DiB). 
The 500-square-foot cafe run 
by Kauf with a barista brims with 
good cheer for all. Glass blocks 
hold up a service counter in the 
industrial-style setting. Several 
abstract paintings decorate 
“Mystery Green” walls — gray 
with a hint of green. In addition 
to a work Kafka contributed, the 
featured artists are Jay Shinn, 
Pedro Friedeberg, Benjamin 
Critton, Mark Samsonovich and 
David Dauncey.
Warm weather brought an 
opportunity for the cafe’s seating 
to spill out onto a paver patio. 
The shady spot used to be a 
parking lot. Other patio guests 
bring purchases from the neigh-
boring DiB, supplier of Cafe 
Prince’s only bread — a delicious, 
simple sourdough. Farther south 
on Grand River is Barda Detroit, 
a notable modern Argentinian 
restaurant founded in 2021.
Cafe Prince proprietor Kauf 
is an interesting individual. 
The sabra son of sabras (native 
Israelis), he learned to speak 

Esther 
Allweiss 
Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

NOSH
DINING AROUND THE D

Arad Kauf is shown 
with two Holy 
Water drinks and 
the beverage and 
food menus 

