Luxe Kitchen in Detroit Shoreway Has Closed

In 2007, chef Marlin Kaplan and Melissa Cole opened the doors to Luxe Kitchen in Detroit Shoreway. The trendy restaurant in the “up-and-coming” neighborhood proved the ideal antithesis to Kaplan’s ritzy downtown spot One Walnut. The restaurant was mobbed from the outset, attracting a wide swathe of Cleveland diners eager to try Kaplan and Cole’s new Mediterranean bistro.

Kaplan and Cole split a few years later, but Luxe Kitchen kept on cruising under Cole’s guidance. It managed to outlast hundreds of restaurants that opened in the same era thanks to warm hospitality, thoughtful food and one of the best patios around.

This week, Cole closed Luxe Kitchen after nearly 20 years. The owner shared her thoughts on social media:

“We served thousands and thousands of meals. We made mistakes. We survived recessions, construction, COVID, rising costs, broken equipment, electric outages galore, impossible weeks and some very long nights. But mostly, we made memories. To every person who worked here – whether it was for a summer or for a decade, you are part of this story. Thank you.

“To every guest who celebrated here, sat at our bar, danced here, brought a date here. brought your dog to brunch, met your friends on the patio, ordered your favorite dish for the hundredth time, or simply chose Luxe on an ordinary Tuesday night: Thank you.

“You gave this place a life far bigger than anything we could have created by ourselves. Closing Luxe is bittersweet, but we are incredibly proud of what we built and deeply grateful that Cleveland allowed this little restaurant to become part of its story, The lights may be going out at Luxe, but what happened inside these wails belongs to all of us. Thank you, Cleveland.”

Subscribe to CLE Bites, Doug Trattner’s weekly food newsletter.