Inside Dime Store's big move
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Dime Store's second location at 6920 N. Rochester Road in Rochester Hills. Photos: Courtesy of Dime Store
Beloved brunch spot Dime Store was open for about a decade downtown before it opened another location in the suburbs.
Why it matters: Going from a single-location independent business to more than one operation is a significant jump — especially in the grueling, low-margin restaurant industry.
- Last summer, Dime Store opened a second location in Rochester Hills. Its original has been downtown since 2014.
The big picture: Dime Store is among several Detroit restaurants to make the jump to a second location in the suburbs in recent years. Others include Marrow, Hudson Cafe, Detroit 75 Kitchen and Firebird Tavern.
Context: Expansion was considered before the pandemic, co-owner Ann-Marie Murphy tells Axios, but the team paused its efforts when the world shut down.
- A few years later, excitement from Dime Store's former executive chef, George Sleator, and general manager, Mitchell Freem, brought the expansion back to the fore.
- "Something that was really important in doing a second location is that we had operating partners … people that we trust and knew it wasn't going to just be somebody we were going to hire in and shoot them off to the suburbs and let them do their thing," Murphy says.
Between the lines: Dime Store considered Detroit, but was concerned it would be too close to the original. The Rochester Hills business community felt "close-knit," like downtown's, Murphy says.
- Co-owner Larry Kahn says that compared with opening a decade ago under landlord Bedrock, the team found opening the Rochester Hills restaurant went slower due to differences in submitting plan changes to the city.
Zoom in: The new 4,000-square-foot location is about double the size of the original, providing room for more menu experimentation and catering, which it couldn't do downtown.
- The co-owners say they pay close to the same rent for both locations, but didn't specify figures.
What's next: Murphy says Dime Store has discussed the possibility of more restaurants, but isn't considering it while the Rochester Hills spot still gets its footing.
- "Everything is five times more expensive" than 10 years ago, Khan says. "It's a little tougher … but I think there'll be a point where a third and fourth will hopefully happen."