After Dan Deagan closed Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar in 2023, the Lakewood space has been home to a couple short-lived concepts that never gained any traction. The last, Arcade on Detroit, closed earlier this year.
New operator Leo Hines has both the experience and the vision required to get a new restaurant concept off the ground. He has spent the majority of his career working for heavy hitters like Rick Doody at Bravo/Brio, Bret Adams of Burntwood Tavern and M Italian, and at Sapphire Creek Winery and all their related properties. Now, he and his partners will open their first independent concept called Sourwood Public House (14810 Detroit Ave.). The modern Southern restaurant is expected to open in December.
“It’s Southern but with global influences,” Hines explains. “We’re taking the Southern cuisine that you think about and kind of twisting it into something different.”
A peek at the menu reveals items such as deviled eggs, chicken-fried oysters, crispy catfish tacos and fried green tomatoes. There are salads and soups like Caesar, crawfish bisque and creamy corn chowder. Fried chicken, which comes as white, dark, mixed and buckets, is triple-fried Korean-style (which happens to be gluten-free). Sauces include gochujang BBQ, honey hot, honey mustard and cilantro lime crema.
In the entrée category are classics like shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and blackened catfish. There are also sandwiches starring fried chicken, fried catfish and a smash burger, all of which include hand-cut fries.
Hines says that they are deep into a construction project that will result in an entirely new look and feel for the space, which has essentially remained the same since Deagan opened his beloved gastropub in 2010.
“We pretty much gutted the entire space,” Hines says, adding that everything from the basement to the ceiling has received attention.
When it opens in early December, Sourwood will feature all new furniture, lighting, wall panels and bar tops. The exposed brick will get a grey-wash treatment to lighten up the interior. Custom-built booths and banquettes will help elevate the experience to achieve what Hines calls “polished casual” dining.
“There’s no question about the quality of the product that we’ll be putting out,” he adds.
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