DETROIT (WXYZ) — The owners of Meantime, a new bar opening along Cass Ave. in Midtown Detroit this week, say their space is all about community with the goal of being a great neighborhood bar.
Erik Annonson, Brittney Carnahan and Elliot Hoffman took over the space formerly occupied by 8 Degrees Plato (3409 Cass Ave.), which closed in December. Those who visit Meantime will see a transformed space from what Plato used to be.
Annonson and Hoffman met each other while working in the coffee industry in California more than a decade ago. They both moved over to the brewery industry. After visiting Detroit, Hoffman and his partner, Carnahan, moved to the city. Annonson followed, moving to the city during the COVID-19 pandemic, sight unseen.
The trio originally planned to open a brewery – Side Pull Beer Company – but those plans have been put on pause so they could open Meantime.
Navigating the coffee industry before moving to the beer world, Annonson and Hoffman say they want Meantime to have an "anyone is welcome" vibe.
"Our goal is that we have a really fervent community of people who come on a regular basis and feel like, 'this is where I hang out when I want to get some work done. This is where I want to hang out if I'm on a date, if I have friends from out of town.' It's like, I want the central place where we can be together," Hoffman said.
"I wish for it to be, and I think we're going to make it happen in this direction, a place for people to come together and create communities, be a part of a community," Annonson added. "When I moved here, I literally just knew the two of them, and I met everyone I know through the bars and all that, so a place to be able to be a part of a place and part of the culture of the people we can gather."
A big part of that plan is the redesign of the 8 Degrees Plato space. According to Hoffman, Carnahan played a massive part with a mid-century modern style.
"She chose elements to break from a beer bar in general. From a human perspective, it’s something we strive for in service because it’s great to have knowledge about a product and share it, but detrimental when it becomes high-brow," Hoffman said.
See inside Meantime in the video below
Both Hoffman and Annonson have years of experience working at bars in Detroit. Hoffman previously worked at Eastern Market Brewing Company and Florian East, while Annonson worked at Collect Beer Bar.
Meantime will offer craft beers on tap, plus a variety of wines and mixed drinks, as they have a full liquor license. It will also have a case with beers, ciders and non-alcoholic drinks that can be purchased to drink at Meantime or taken to-go.
"We can cast a bigger net for people who just want to hang out in a space that's cool, but also we can do cocktails, we can do wine, which would have been a lot harder to do in the brewery aspect," Hoffman said.
Meantime also has two side pull taps. The taps are used for Czech lagers and pilsners. Hoffman said the taps allow them to better control the foam for the beer. According to Hoffman, that makes the beer more aromatic.
"So the more aromatic you make something, the better experience for a beer you'll have," Hoffman said
Their flagship beer – Midwest Leisure – is a Czech pilsner brewed in collaboration with Florian East in Hamtramck. It's sold in a half-liter and comes in at 5.6% ABV.
The side pull also allows Meantime to offer Mlíko shots. Mlíko is the Czech word for milk. According to the website for Pilsner Urquell, a famous Czech beer, a Mlíko is a glass filled with foam and a little beer at the bottom that "looks like milk and tastes sweet and smooth."
Meantime is also offering a "Pal membership" program that costs $80 for the first year and $60 for every year after. The sign-up is open through Memorial Day, and you can sign up in person at Meantime. The membership includes:
- 15% off everything in-house (draft, wine, mixed drinks, spirits)
- 25% off every in-house on Mondays
- 10% off merchandise
- $5 house lager (Midwest Leisure brewed in collaboration with Florian East
- $8 house lager and a shot of Old Grand-Dad
- $6 Coors Banquet and a shot of Old Grand-Dad
- Three annual parties
After two weekends of soft openings, Meantime officially opens Friday. After that, the bar will be open Thursdays through Mondays. People are also welcome to bring their own food, and they will also have different food pop-ups.
You can follow them on Instagram for more updates.
