Sunday, Oct. 25, was the last day of business at Sign of the Beefcarver. The restaurant was the last survivor of a metro Detroit chain that once had 18 locations. ClickOnDetroit called the closing the end of "seventy years of Sunday dinners, post-zoo lunches and Dream Cruise traditions."
The same month, a 1972 parking garage in the middle of downtown is being torn down. A block of Fifth Street that used to be a regular street has already become a lawn. Each of these is its own story. Together they show a town giving space built around cars to people on foot. The largest piece of that change, the empty Center Street site, has no plan yet, and the window for ideas closes Dec. 1.
The Beefcarver closing is about costs
It's tempting to read the Beefcarver closing as a story about a changing downtown. The owners told a simpler and harder story. In a Facebook post quoted by ClickOnDetroit, they named historically high roast beef prices and a COVID-19 recovery the restaurant never fully made. They also cited money pressures they could no longer absorb.
"If we raised our prices to the point that covered our all-time high costs, they would be prohibitively expensive for a lot of people," the post read.
The pressure goes well beyond one dining room. ClickOnDetroit also pointed to an April survey from the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association. In it, 55 percent of Michigan restaurants reported fewer customers, compared with 46 percent nationally. And 51 percent reported falling same-store sales, compared with 39 percent nationally. In other words, Michigan restaurants were doing worse than the national average on both measures.
Royal Oak lost another familiar spot earlier this fall. Edo Ramen House closed unexpectedly, and Crain's Detroit Business reported on Sept. 18 that a landlord dispute was behind it. No new use has been announced for the Beefcarver building.
Private businesses close for their own reasons, and the city has little say in what replaces them. Downtown, where the city owns the land, it has much more control over what comes next.
The Center Street garage is coming down
The garage at 300 S. Center St. opened in 1972. According to The Royal Oak Record, demolition was nearing the halfway point as of Oct. 12 and is expected to finish by November. WXYZ reported that work started in late September.
The garage is coming down because repairing it no longer made sense. "It got to the point where there were some safety issues, and it would be more costly to repair it than take it down," Isaac Kremer, executive director of the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority, told WXYZ. A city memo put demolition at $630,000, with the DDA paying $600,000 of it.
If you park downtown this fall, the seven-level Center Street parking structure right next door stays open through the whole project, according to the city's parking page.
Why this site matters more than its size
The site is roughly 1.44 acres. The Record notes it is one of the few large city-owned properties left in central downtown, and Royal Oak's 2025 Master Plan calls it a "catalyst site" for mixed-use development. The plan also calls for restoring the Third Street walking connection to Washington Avenue. The city's request for information asks for concepts that do exactly that. For more than 50 years, a parking structure has blocked a street connection. The city has made restoring it a stated goal.
The options the Record listed:
- Housing
- Ground-floor retail
- A new parking structure
- A public gathering space
- A boutique hotel
Kremer told WXYZ that downtown Royal Oak hotels are often booked months in advance and that a hotel could bring in more visitors.
The RFI also lays out four ways the land could change hands. A developer could buy it at fair market value. A developer could pay back the city and DDA for demolition, possibly at a reduced price. A developer could get the property for little or no cost in exchange for major public benefits. Or the parties could work out some other public-private partnership.
The RFI collects ideas and measures market interest, and it does not pick a developer. The city issued it Sept. 1, 2026, and responses are due Dec. 1. After that, the City Commission will decide what process comes next. WXYZ reported that a broader public process is expected once responses are in.
Fifth Street shows what the DDA has in mind
To picture what "public gathering space" could mean on Center Street, walk a block over to Fifth Street, between Washington and Center. The DDA's own history of that block helps.
In 2023, the DDA spent just over $15,000 on 104 chairs and 30 tables for Fifth Street between Washington and Center. City crews set the furniture out each spring and put it into storage before each winter. That was a seasonal setup on a street that went back to normal every fall.
The new Fifth Street Plaza is permanent. The DDA describes a pedestrian-focused public space with a central lawn built to absorb stormwater. A DDA agenda for Sept. 1 listed the plaza as complete on Aug. 28. That same evening, the Royal Oak Civic Foundation held Arts, Beats & Eats on 5th there, calling it the first event on the newly opened plaza. C&G News described the charity preview as food, drinks, art and live music, with a 5:30 p.m. VIP reception and an 8:30 p.m. finish. The full Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats followed Sept. 4–7.
The DDA chose not to build a permanent stage. Its planning document explains that a built-in stage with rigging, a roof, lighting and sound could block sight lines, break up the flow of the space, sit empty most of the time and cost too much. Instead, it recommended temporary platforms about 18 to 22 inches high at the east end of the street, in the drop-off circle. The circle is paved in crushed stone, which makes it easier to add footings later for a cover. The DDA agenda describes this as a way to "test a concept, make refinements, and build a constituency" for longer-term decisions.
That approach is the clearest hint about Center Street. The DDA builds something flexible, watches how people use it, and adjusts. The same agenda recommended a three-month programming pilot run by a contractor and noted the DDA would need more staff or contractor help to run it. Public notices haven't yet said who will program the plaza.
The dates to know this fall
The changes play out on a calendar, and some of it is just regular downtown life.
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 25 | Sign of the Beefcarver's last day | Royal Oak |
| Oct. 30 and 31 | Farm Fresh Friday and Saturday Farmers Market, 7 a.m.–1 p.m. | Royal Oak Farmers Market, 316 E. 11 Mile Road |
| Sundays: Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | Antiques & Collectibles Market, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. | Royal Oak Farmers Market |
| Saturdays: Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28 | Saturday Farmers Market, 7 a.m.–1 p.m. | Royal Oak Farmers Market |
| By November | Center Street garage demolition expected to finish | 300 S. Center St. |
| Dec. 1 | RFI responses due to the city | City of Royal Oak |
The DDA calendar lists both Farm Fresh Friday and Saturday market days in October. For November, it lists only Saturdays for the farmers market and Sundays for the antiques market. If you're used to a Friday stop at the market, check the calendar before heading out.
What to watch after Dec. 1
The plaza on Fifth Street is finished and already hosting events. The Center Street site is the open question. The city has said the RFI won't pick a winner. The Master Plan's call for a Third Street walking connection and the DDA's flexible approach on Fifth Street both point toward something you can walk through. Whether that turns out to be housing over shops, a hotel, a new garage or some mix is up to the City Commission, after the responses come in and after the public process WXYZ said would follow.
When the commission sets that process, the city's Center Street RFI page and the City Commission page are where it will show up.
I keep a close eye on these downtown decisions because they shape what living in Royal Oak feels like day to day, from where you park to where you meet friends on a Friday night. If you'd like to talk through what the Center Street plans could mean for your street or your next move, I'm happy to help. Yvonne Zielinski is always glad to swap notes on downtown. Let's Connect.