The AD100 Firm Ash Studio Strikes Again With a Glamorous Automotive-Inspired Bar in Detroit

When the multihyphenate design studio Ash first opened The Siren Hotel in 2018, it injected new life into Detroit’s storied Wurlitzer Building—a 1926 Renaissance Revival tower that was once home to the musical instrument manufacturer. Now the AD100 firm has revved its engine yet again, winning over Motor City revelers with its new Ash—Bar. One flight up the original stairs, the all-day eatery is a love letter to automotive glamour, with a mint-green palette that nods to factory machinery, chrome details that evoke pedal-to-the-metal touches, and wood veneers that call to mind dashboards of yore. The hand-painted panorama of industrial scenes, meanwhile, was inspired by Detroit’s WPA murals. “Our intention was always that the second level would become the signature food and beverage space,” says Ash CEO and cofounder Ari Heckman, alluding to the Continental menu by chef Lauren Sandler and cocktails by beverage maestro Nick Arone. (Heckman recommends the trout à la meunière and a dirty vodka martini—full pour.) The venue also marks the first Ash project by Xavier Donnelly, the studio’s recently anointed creative director, who notes, “It’s very cinematic, like you’re in a historic imagining of a restaurant from the future.” ash.world