This story has been updated with additional information.
Michigan actor Jeff Daniels is opening a new restaurant in downtown Chelsea, blocks away from his iconic Purple Rose Theatre.
JD’s Stage Bistro is under construction at 117½ S. Main St., underneath the Chelsea Bakery and neighboring 115-119 Main St. businesses, and across the street from The Common Grill. The restaurant’s Main Street entrance is shared with the bakery, 117 Main St., and a second entrance faces the Purple Rose Theatre, a restaurant spokesperson told the Free Press on Thursday, Nov. 20. The restaurant is expected to open in the spring of 2026, according to its website.
The restaurant will seat 100 and feature a wood-fired pizza oven, cocktail bar, patio seating and private event spaces catering to “small to mid-sized community gatherings and private celebrations,” according to its website.
Chef Nate Wegryn will feature an inspired contemporary menu, working with many local farmers and suppliers. Wegryn formerly worked at Echelon Kitchen, a restaurant that opened in Ann Arbor earlier this year, and The Dixboro Project, which the Free Press named the No. 3 in its best new restaurant list in 2022.
Tannin Property Group, a small business in Chelsea since 2005, is working with Daniels, his son, Ben, and his wife, Amanda, on the project. They hope to “create a world-class music venue that would attract local, regional, and nationally recognized singer-songwriters, while setting a new standard for sound quality,” according to JD’s Stage Bistro’s website.
Tannin has been involved in several renovations on Chelsea’s Main Street, including the former Flint law offices that are the new home for Serendipity Bookstore, the one hundreds of locals passed thousands of books one at a time from down the street. The new restaurant is located on the same block as the bookstore.
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Free Press staff writer Susan Selasky contributed to this report.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jeff Daniels to open JD’s Stage Bistro a few blocks from Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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