It was last call to “have it your way” in Detroit’s Renaissance Center.
The Burger King on the lower level of the downtown building complex had its final day of business on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The fast-food restaurant was one of the early RenCen tenants and the last holdout in the once-busy food court.
The other half-dozen or so lunch spots that were in the food court or nearby, including a Subway, McDonald’s, Panera Bread, Pot Belly and a Coney Island, all closed their doors in recent years as foot traffic within the office towers dwindled.
“It’s really sad to see everything leaving because there’s nothing for us to really eat now,” said Samiyah Smith, 22, who works in the Renaissance Center’s Marriott hotel and often visited Burger King for lunch. “Within the last year and a half, I’d say everything has just really left.”
Numerous other RenCen tenants have been clearing out as General Motors — the building complex’s owner — prepares to relocate its global headquarters in early January to the new Hudson’s Detroit office building along Woodward.
The owner of the Burger King franchise location declined to comment Wednesday about the closure, and it was unclear whether his restaurant chose to leave or was told to leave.
A GM spokesperson declined to comment about the Burger King or whether the company has any plans to completely shutter the RenCen in the future.
There are still three fine-dining restaurants in the Renaissance Center that remain open: Andiamo, Joe Muer Seafood and Highlands Detroit.
The Burger King had been in the Renaissance Center for at least 40 years. The restaurant on Wednesday attracted a steady lunch crowd to the otherwise desolate food court, including a young man who fed one of his French fries to a hungry bird trapped inside the building.
Steven Howie, 61, works for the city and said he regularly walks across two skywalks to get from the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center to the Burger King for lunch. He also ate at the Subway and the McDonald’s before they closed.
“I hate to see it go, but times are changing,” he said. “Now I have to bring my food from home.”
GM has teamed up with Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock real estate firm for a proposed $1.6 billion RenCen redevelopment that would demolish two of the five towers and convert a portion of the remaining office space to housing. However, the plan hinges on state-level development incentives that haven’t been forthcoming.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @JCReindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Last food court restaurant in Detroit’s Renaissance Center closes
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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