Vertical Detroit is closing and expanding its retail business

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Vertical Detroit, a wine-centered restaurant that opened its doors in 2015, is closing.

In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Feb. 27, the owners and team announced that “after an incredible decade of serving the Detroit community, we have made the decision to close our doors here at Vertical Detroit.”

The restaurant is being sold, and a new concept is forthcoming, co-owner Remy Lutfy told the Free Press on Friday.

“It is the right time and right chapter for us,” Lutfy said. “We are so proud of everything and our wine business.”

Known as Detroit’s first wine-centric bar, restaurant and retail shop, Vertical Detroit on Centre Street is inside the Ashley Apartment building in the Paradise Valley area of downtown Detroit.

Vertical Detroit opened in 2015 under the guidance of father-daughter team James Lufty and Remy Lufty, owners behind Livonia’s Fine Wine Source. “Their combined fifty-five years of wine knowledge obtained after owning the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan, studying wines across the globe and simply having an absolute passion for it, gave Vertical Detroit the title of Downtown Detroit’s first high-end, wine-centric restaurant and wine bar,” its website says.

While its downtown Detroit spot is closing, the owners are expanding and opening a Fine Wine Source location in Plymouth, according to the Facebook post.

Soon after its opening, Vertical Detroit was named a 2016 Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Top 10 Best New Restaurant. In the lower level of the Ashley Apartments building, Vertical Detroit was known for its intimate dining room and menu, which included charcuterie selections, braised beef short rib, roasted salmon and more.

Its last day of business is slated to be on or before March 28, per the announcement.Vertical Detroit is at 1538 Centre, Detroit; 313-732-9463; verticaldetroit.com.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SusanMariecooks. Subscribe to the Free Press. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for insider scoops on food and dining in metro Detroit.