Detroit Book Bar Vesper Is Opening With Biodynamic Wines and Tinned Fish

Just in time for the holiday season, Detroit’s new bookshop and wine bar is opening on Wednesday, December 4. Situated in a former bank building at 5001 Grand River Avenue in Core City, the space is one-of-a-kind for the city of Detroit, offering visitors a spot to enjoy a glass of wine while perusing a wide selection of cookbooks. Owners Symantha Duggan and Rob Wilson shared with Eater in late 2022 hopes to open the following spring. Delays with construction and challenges raising capital prolonged that open process. Now the pair is ready to showcase the fruits of their labor. In addition to carrying a selection of biodynamic wines, a brief offering of tinned fish, meat and cheese plates, and other snacks, Vesper features a collection of cookbooks for sale, curated by Duggan. She tells Eater that the shop includes sections representing African, Latinx, and Levantine regional cuisines — representing some of the diaspora communities prominent in metro Detroit. Vesper also carries a variety of nonalcoholic wines, including, Non, an Australian brand whose flavor is less an imitation of wine than its own distinct drinking experience with an herbaceous profile that changes with the seasons. “With the [nonalcoholic] program, we wanted something to feel a little bit more sophisticated — like you are having a treat, you are indulging, and it’s something a little bit more higher end or delectable, as opposed to just getting a Sprite or a Topo Chico, because that’s the only thing that they have,” says Duggan. “I constantly think about the John Mulaney joke, where, when he got sober, [someone said], ‘Can I offer you this old turnip?’ When we say we want to be a hub for our community to bring their whole selves and their unique human experience to the table, we want everyone — drinkers and nondrinkers alike.” Duggan first envisioned creating a bookshop and wine bar combination more than a decade ago while living in Austin. Rising housing costs sent Duggan back to her home state of Michigan, but her ambition remained. She partnered with Wilson — whose long bartending resume includes running drinks programming at Barda (which is adjacent to Vesper) and helping to open Kiesling in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood — to make the hybrid space a reality. Vesper is at 5001 Grand River Avenue. It opens to the public on Wednesday, December 4. Open noon to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, noon to 10 p.m. Thursdays, and noon to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.