Cuban-inspired street food
restaurant Frita Batidos opened
in Detroit Wednesday, marking
their second location since the
restaurant opened in Ann Arbor
in 2010. Located downtown, the
business is situated between the
Fox Theatre and the Fillmore
on West Columbia Street. Frita
Batidos is the first of many
businesses expected to open
in the new Columbia Street
development in District Detroit
in the near future.
The
restaurant’s
“fritas,”
Cuban-style burgers and fries,
and “batidos,” tropical fruit
milkshakes,
have
garnered
love and appreciation from
University of Michigan students,
some of whom were excited to
hear about the new location in
downtown Detroit.
LSA senior Peyton Sternfeld
grew up in metro Detroit and
recounted hearing about the new
location from her mother, who
saw the announcement in their
local paper. Sternfeld praised
the restaurant for its ability to
accommodate her food allergies
and expressed her excitement
about the introduction of Frita
Batidos to Detroit.
“I think it’s great that (Frita
Batidos is) expanding. … There’s
so many fun and new restaurants
coming up in Detroit,” Sternfeld
said. Frita Batidos is “affordable
and it’s great for most people
to have a fun, different food
option.”
Frita Batidos is known for
its customizable options, and
the Detroit location will be
no different. From black bean
burgers topped with fried eggs
and avocado spread to churros
dusted with cinnamon and
sugar, the menu in Detroit will
be similar to the Ann Arbor
original. Detroit’s location also
boasts a full bar and seasonal
drink options for customers.
Eve Aronoff is the chef and
owner of Frita Batidos and
came up with the idea for the
Cuban-infused restaurant based
on her childhood experiences
visiting her grandmother in
Miami, as well as her love for the
Latinx culture. Frita Batidos’s
Detroit location opened after
almost a decade of high demand
and praises from the local
community.
Aronoff noted the positive
customer reception of the new
location’s opening thus far,
especially because of the Detroit
natives who now feel like
Frita Batidos is closer to
home.
“It’s going great and
better than we could have
imagined, just super warm
reception from people in
the neighborhood, and the
city, and people coming out
from Ann Arbor,” Aronoff
said. “We didn’t realize how
many people used to come to
Ann Arbor from Detroit that
now are really happy that
we’re closer to them, so that
felt really good.”
Business
sophomore
Owen
Hill
noted
that
because the restaurant does
not solely imitate Cuban
cuisine,
there
is
more
opportunity for Aronoff and
her team to try out different
recipes and create unique
dishes for patrons.
“It’ll be a completely
different vibe in Detroit,
obviously, because of the
location, but also because
it’s not taken from another
culture
concretely
and
moved here,” Hill said. “It’s
just the creator’s imagination,
which opens up a lot of different
avenues for her to go down when
you open it in Detroit.”
In
its
nine
years,
Frita
Batidos has gained national
recognition
and
earned
its
place as Ann Arbor’s go-to
spot, receiving glowing reviews
from
publications
including
The New York Times, National
Geographic and USA Today. The
Daily has named Frita Batidos
the “Best Burger” in their annual
“Best of Ann Arbor” series every
year since 2014.
Aronoff
and
her
team
gravitated toward opening a
location in Detroit “because of
the unique character and energy
of the city — not just in recent
years, but through its rich and
complex history” according to
the restaurant website. Over
the past four years, the Frita
Batidos team came close to
opening locations in Detroit, but
ultimately signed their lease for
the Columbia Street location a
year and a half ago.
LSA sophomore Courtney
Fortin also noted the advantages
of bringing Frita Batidos to
Detroit as the city continues
to develop and establish new
homes and businesses. Fortin
also
explained
that
while
young people go to Detroit for
a sporting event or concert,
they will be drawn to a unique
restaurant
atmosphere
as
opposed
to
typical
chain
restaurants.
“It’s good to have a cultural
identity
for
a
restaurant,
and then put it in a place like
Detroit,” Fortin said. “A lot of
people go to Detroit to eat, and
they don’t want to see a bunch
of chain restaurants … I feel like
Detroit is the right environment
for (Frita Batidos) to be in.”
2A — Friday, October 4, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
TUESDAY:
By Design
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Behind the Story
WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History
MONDAY:
Looking at the Numbers
B E HIND THE STORY
QUOTE OF THE WE E K
“
I’m trying to be strong even though I don’t feel strong. I’m so
weak. I’m tired. But I’m not going to quit fighting for my son as long as
his heart is beating. I will be fighting for him to my last breath. And I
said, whatever happens, it’s in God’s hands. If God takes my son while
he’s on life support, you know, we’ll make peace with it, but I’ll never
have peace with knowing that I consented to pulling the plug on my son
when he’s still here.”
Sarah Jones, mother of 14-year old Bobby Reyes, who was placed on life suppot after he went into cardiac arrest following an
asthma attack
Every Friday, one Daily staffer will give a behind the scenes look
at one of this week’s stories. This week, Public Policy junior
Samantha Della Fera coordinated an oral history of The Michigan
Daily.
“The lede was a profile on The Daily itself. We interview a bunch of
alumni, spanning back all the way to the ‘50s, so back when there was
still a staff person that was in charge of The Daily and it wasn’t just
student-run. We interviewed a lot of high profile people that wrote
for The Daily and got their start here, like Adam Schefter, who is the
NFL insider for ESPN. He was a sports editor here. Philip Power of the
Power Center was also an editor here, so we got to talk to a lot of cool
people who are connected to both Michigan history and the history of
The Daily.”
Samathan Della Fara, Daily Arts Editor
HAPPY INTERVIEWING
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Popular burger joint Frita Batidos
expands to second location in Detroit
Cuban-inspired street food restaurant adds additional store outside of Ann Arbor
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
arts@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
NEWS TIPS
news@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
opinion@michigandaily.com
TOMMY DYE
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
tomedye@michigandaily.com
MAYA GOLDMAN
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
mayagold@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
corrections@michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during
the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is
available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long
subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription
rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
FINNTAN STORER
Managing Editor
frstorer@michigandaily.com
GRACE KAY and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com
Senior News Editors: Sayali Amin, Rachel Cunningham, Remy Farkas, Leah
Graham, Amara Shaikh
Assistant News Editors: Barbara Collins, Julia Fanzeres, Claire Hao, Alex
Harring, Angelina Little, Madeline McLaughlin, Ben Rosenfeld, Emma Stein,
Zayna Syed, Liat Weinstein
JOEL DANILEWITZ and MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA
Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Considine, Krystal Hur, Ethan Kessler, Miles
Stephenson, Erin White
MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
ARYA NAIDU and VERITY STURM
Managing Arts Editors
arts@michigandaily.com
Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam
Della Fera, Trina Pal
Arts Beat Editors: John Decker, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens,
Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan
ALEC COHEN and ALEXIS RANKIN
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com
ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
Senior Design Editor: Sherry Chen
ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors
SILAS LEE and EMILY STILLMAN
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com
Senior Copy Editors: Dominick Sokotoff, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer
CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO
Managing Online Editors
webteam@michigandaily.com
Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Rohan Prashant, Samantha
Cohen
ELI SIDER
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com
Senior Video Editors: Joseph Sim, Ryan O’Connor
NA’KIA CHANNEY and CARLY RYAN
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria
Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya
Mokh
Editorial Staff
Business Staff
RYAN KELLY
Sales Manager
ROBERT WAGMAN
Marketing Consulting Manager
ZELJKO KOSPIC
Special Projects Manager
ANITA MICHAUD
Brand Manager
Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Allison
Engkvist, Danyel Tharakan
Assistant Photo Editors: Miles Macklin, Keemya Esmael, Madeline Hinkley,
Ryan McLoughlin
Senior Sports Editors: Anna Marcus, Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Mark Calcagno,
Theo Mackie, Tien Le
Assistant Sports Editors: Bailey Johnson, Bennett Bramson, Connor Brennan,
Jacob Kopnick, Jorge Cazares, Rian Ratnavale
MOLLY WU
Creative Director
CATHERINE NOUHAN
Managing Podcast Editor
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
MADALASA CHAUDHARI and HANNAH MESKIN
Managing Social Media Editors
Senior Social Media Editor: Allie Phillips