Tamela Todd opened Sip-N-Read on a Wednesday afternoon in late August. Customers walked into the 2,400-square-foot space at 1620 Michigan Avenue, in Suite 122 of The Corner development, and found a bookstore on one side and a wine bar on the other. The wine list was all Michigan.
The book selection skewed toward independent and underrepresented authors. The wines were available in five-ounce and eight-ounce pours. Todd is a three-time published nonfiction author.
She is also a winemaker. The Library of Rosé, the house pour she designed for her own bar, is one of several Michigan-made bottles on the menu. She poured it for the first customers herself.
She has been working on this since 2019. The pandemic stretched the timeline. Construction stretched it further.
Sip-N-Read existed for years as a deck and a website and a vague answer to the question of what Todd was working on. The opening week she had a real space, with shelves and stools and a bar. The concept is adults-only on purpose.
Todd wanted a bookstore that doubled as a wine bar without conflicting with any of the family-friendly bookstores already serving Detroit. Customers can bring books from home, settle in, and read. The bar serves mocktails alongside the wine list.
Todd added a charcuterie board because she likes one with her wine. Hours run 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with Sundays held for private events, including book launches, author readings, and book club meetings. The location sits a block from the new Corner Ballpark and within walking distance of the reopened Michigan Central Station, which means Sip-N-Read landed in a Corktown that has more foot traffic than it has had in decades.
Chi Walker, a Detroit chef, stopped in opening day. She said the neighborhood needed a Black-woman-owned space that reflected the community at large. Walker had a glass of the Library of Rosé.
She said it was juicy, a little sweet, but not too sweet. Todd has plans for local-author shelves. She's been looking for the right way to onboard them. Sip-N-Read, 1620 Michigan Avenue, Suite 122, Detroit.
