by Alan Stamm It s kind of custom to our culture, says the owner of Armando s, site of these first lantern-style dining chalets. (Photo: Southwest Detroit Business Association) These stylish workarounds for dining in a time of Covid are likely to outlast the pandemic, and not just because prices start at $6,000 each. They re also cozy, romantic and culturally apt for Southwest Detroit, the first area getting locally made restaurant luminarias. The steel huts with plexiglass windows and roofs are 12-foot-tall versions of paper lanterns that line walkways, churches, and homes around Christmas in Mexican culture. Fifteen are being erected outside eateries in Mexicantown and nearby, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Hudson Webber Foundation.
Outdoor dining structures resembling Mexican luminarias being built at Detroit restaurants
Updated Jan 06, 2021;
Posted Jan 05, 2021 The Luminarias of Southwest Detroit” outdoor dining structures to be built this winter at various restaurants. (Artist rendition courtesy of The Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA)
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DETROIT - You’ll soon be able to dine in new heated outdoor structures at various restaurants in Detroit. The Southwest Detroit Business Association (SDBA) just announced, what it’s calling, “The Luminarias of Southwest Detroit.”
Constructed to look like traditional Mexican luminarias, the heated, outdoor enclosures will each hold up to six people. The five-sided, metal and plexiglass structures will be eight feet tall with an eight foot diameter and will be designed to be COVID-19 health and safety compliant. The luminarias will also light up in a variety of colors and can be customized for special occasions.