Wright & Co. Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago, Detroit was clawing its way out of the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Jack White made his homecoming debut at the Fox Theatre to a sold-out show and followed it up with another one at the Masonic Temple, which he had helped rescue from foreclosure by paying its delinquent tax bills the year before. That December, Gold Cash Gold brought cuisine to Corktown, and Punch Bowl Social made its splashy debut.

That same year, a jewel of a bar and restaurant debuted in a historic building with a brick turret, perfectly situated to overlook all the positive changes happening on Woodward Avenue. Over the years, Wright & Co. has emerged from its promising start to become one of the city’s anchor essential bars.

The business was initially a dream child between two now-titans of Detroit drinks and dining. Dave Kwiatkowski founded acclaimed craft cocktail bar Sugar House in 2011, making that Corktown spot one of the first in the city to celebrate the craft cocktail renaissance. He was joined in his second venture by co-owner and chef Marc Djozlija. Together, they fixed up a jewel in the rough: the former home of the Wright-Kay jewelry firm, with soaring tin ceilings and a long, long bar that dominates the visual field of guests. Within a year, Wright & Co. was winning national acclaim: first a James Beard Award nomination, then a nod from Food & Wine . The initial wave of accolades proved the genius of the partnership.

Today, Djozlija is joined by Executive Chef Kyle Schutte in the kitchen. Behind that show-stopping bar are district manager of Detroit Optimist Society — Wright & Co.’s umbrella company — Joaquin de la Cerda and Wright & Co. general manager Roxanne Phillips. Along with a star-studded lineup of bartenders, they’ve worked to keep the drinks menu fresh and timely, with seasonal ingredients from the kitchen and a full wine list packed with well-considered, sometimes surprising, picks from all over the world.

The quirky wine list, like the extensive cocktail menu, seamlessly brings together tried-and-true classics with ingenious new ideas. Old-school Bordeaux share space with Slovenian orange wines; on the cocktail side, the old-fashioned is well represented with a half dozen or more single-barrel variations, but there’s also room for shochu cocktails or ones that incorporate the ancestral corn-based Nixta Elote liqueur.

The bar program, Phillips says, “does a really good job of being user-friendly, while also still maintaining a skill level that people who work in the industry or cocktail connoisseurs can see and respect and appreciate as well.”

De la Cerda credits that to the strong bar training program, a trademark of Detroit Optimist Society. In 10 years, some of Detroit’s most innovative bartenders have cut their teeth in front of the massive oil reproduction, by local artist Michelle Tanguay, of a storm-tossed sailing vessel — an apt symbol for the city’s tumultuous but determined history. “We’re pretty proud of the team we have here,” he says.

Over the years, many of Wright & Co.’s bartenders have built successful mixology careers elsewhere. “I’d like to think that you can go anywhere else in this city and be able to execute very well but also go to any other city” and excel, de a Cerda says. “I would put Detroit’s food and beverage programs at this stage in 2024 head-to-head with those throughout the country and throughout the world.”

That spirit of friendly competition plays out every Monday night at Wright & Co. During Bar Brawl, which had its inaugural event in March 2024, bartenders from eight of the nine Detroit Optimist Society bars “bring their A game.” Two DOS bartenders from two different concepts square off to win votes for the best cocktails, using the same base liquor. One Monday might see tiki drinks from Mutiny Bar contrasted with an elegant Negroni riff, both containing Hendrick’s gin. The showdown may be filled with warmth, laughter, collaboration, and banter, but the drinks are a tribute to the serious bar chops that have deep roots in Wright & Co. The last Bar Brawl of the year was held in June, and it will return in spring 2025.

Bar Brawl is the brainchild of Phillips, who sees it as a way to “drive our programs to be a little bit more innovative and challenging.” The winner is determined by popular vote, with all restaurant and bar guests able to weigh in. It’s a perfect microcosm of the successful evolution of Wright & Co. over the years: driven by innovation, powered by talented team members, and not afraid to just have some fun with it.

This story originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on July 8.

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