by
UFO Factory
The UFO Factory on Trumbull, across from the old Tiger Stadium site, is closing.
In an announcement on Instagram on Monday, the bar said: "June 15th 2024 will be the last day for ufo FACTORY!"
The owners said they "are getting out of the bar/restaurant/venue biz! it’s been a real cool time but we are moving on to other projects - it’s time! we will miss the music, art, fun..."
The bar filled the old spot vacated by Hoot Robinson's, which attracted Tigers fans over the decades.
The good news: The owners hinted that something is opening in the location, writing on Instagram:
"What’s next to come at 2110 Trumbull??? All will be revealed soon soon soon and fear not if you loved OUR #ufoFACTORY you are likely to be pleased with the next evolutionelse may."
The announcement comes at an interesting time, just days before Ford is throwing a big concert to celebrate the reopening of Michigan Central Station, an 18-story high building in walking distance from the bar. Ford spent hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the blighted building off Michigan Avenue, with a plan to create an innovative and collaborative hub with workers from Ford and startups and businesses focused on mobility and transportation.
The station will also have retail, gathering spaces, a destination restaurant and a hotel. Ford says it has hopes of restoring Amtrak train service on the 30-acre campus that includes other Ford-owned buildings. One of those buildings, an old book despository Ford renovated and opened last year, currently houses 97 startups and about 600 workers.
Some businesses in Corktown hope the development results in more revenue. But they are also concerned about what they say have been rising rents since Ford announced the purchase of the station from the Moroun family in 2018.
