Squares Restaurant opens on East Liberty in Ann Arbor
Squares Restaurant opened in downtown Ann Arbor at 241 E. Liberty St.
Lizzy Alfs | for AnnArbor.com
This is the first location for the restaurant, and there are plans in the works to open another in Canton, said Scott Nail, director of operations for Squares Restaurant.
Nail said business was “excellent” early on Tuesday and that a lot of people were coming into the restaurant.
“We had our opening day promotion with our free breakfast sandwich, and it went very well,” Nail said. “We had very successful opening day.”
According to the Squares Restaurant website, the menu offers items like omelets, salads and sandwiches made on their “Signature Squares,” which is a white or whole grain flatbread.
Nail said the restaurant’s trademark is, “Always fresh, all the time,” and the food is prepared in front of the customers.
“We have an open kitchen that our guests can travel up and down,” Nail said. “The customer’s food is prepared in their view, and they can watch the whole meal being made.”
Nail said that the location in downtown Ann Arbor should help the new restaurant’s business.
“We have a great location right here in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor,” Nail said. “There are the parking garage construction projects and the post office across the street. I think we’ve got a great venue here.”
The location most recently was Yoshi's, which closed in January. The lease for the Squares deal was negotiated in early summer.
Lizzy Alfs is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
mr_annarbor
Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 12:39 p.m.
My wife and I went there on Sunday. I agree with Hendrix--it was pretty boring. I had the loaded baked potato soup, and it tasted like it came out of a can, then sprinkled with bacon bits and a few shreds of cheese. The coffee was weak and tepid. I don't think it will last the year, either, unless they make some changes.
Jessica S.
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 11:10 a.m.
Geez you guys are quick to judge. You judge based of not even a week of it being open. Like you guys can do a better job...talk about harshness. Anyway, I think it's great quality food, I'd rather have quality than food that is of low grade with the flavoring of what it's supposed to be. Which in fact that is what most foods are today. I was just there in the past week and they have reduced their prices and from what I've heard they are listening to their customers which I think is great. How many restaurants listen to what we have to say...they care less what we say. I think's it's a great place, if you don't have the buck for it then don't go there go to Mcdonalds.
lindalinda
Sun, Dec 5, 2010 : 9:22 a.m.
LoL.....hardly
Mitchell
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 7:58 p.m.
@lindalinda- sounds like an employee to me
lindalinda
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 8:35 p.m.
The food is good, the place is clean, the service is friendly, the prices are comparable, the ingedients are healthy and they've created JOBS. I have no doubt they will be successful. Good luck to Squares!
lindalinda
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 8:34 p.m.
The food is good, the place is clean, the service is friendly, the prices are comparable, the ingedients are healthy and they've created JOBS. I have no doubt they will be successful. Good luck to Squares!
lindalinda
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 8:33 p.m.
The food is good, the place is clean, the service is friendly, the prices are comparable, the ingedients are healthy and they've created JOBS. I have no doubt they will be successful. Good luck to Squares!
HENDRIX242
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 5:25 p.m.
Britain, Dinersty's (or as I called it, Disentery) problem was storing chicken in buckets of water in their unrefrigerated basement storage space, never cleaning there grease hood (it was 3 inches thick of caked on grease) and general uncleanliness. Their practices were so bad I heard the landlord, not the city, shut them down by not renewing their lease.
Britain W.
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 4:50 p.m.
You really could eat for less than five bucks at Dinersty, though -- General Tso, a small Coke, and won-ton soup in those little plastic bowls that looked like petri dishes. I don't know, maybe that was part of their problem.
HENDRIX242
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
More boring food for restaurantland. Squares does not offer anything I can't already get somewhere else. For the same money I could fill up at Amadeus or Jerusalem Garden. Considering the time and money they spent building the place, they should have done more market research.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 2:39 p.m.
@Mike, I didn't say I budget $5 for lunch, I said $5 for a shake was too much for a shake. I usually spend an average of $10 a day on lunch.
MikeMartin
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 1:29 p.m.
Wow $5 budget limit for lunch?! That's pretty frugal. Give these guys a break! I just carried out from there. The restaurant was clean and attractive. The food smelled appetizing, was fresh, with a very nice portion of well prepared chicken in my sandwich. A friendly, smiling guy told me all about their menu and another friendly guy rang me up. The nice attitude alone is almost unheard of at lunch style A2 restaurants and many sit down places for that matter. I'll gladly pay a couple dollars more for higher quality. If you can't afford to, that's too bad, but you don't need to rip on those who can "college students with rich daddys". I am a downtown professional and I say "welcome folks" and good luck! Let's help our local entrepreneurs move the economy along, not slay them after they have been open 12 hours. I think I'll buy everyone in the office lunch there Friday.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 1:01 a.m.
They handed out menus to downtown businesses, yet they don't deliver, GRRRRR, some of us cannot leave work to get lunch and the people that deliver benefit from those trapped at work. I have to agree, some of the items on the menu were steep, so they better be big portions. I'm sick of people pricing shakes for $5.
Jay Thomas
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 2:04 p.m.
Seems like Ann Arbor is gonna be a restaurant town. Go to the mall for merchandise...
mstairs
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 1 p.m.
Spent $8.50 and I'm not full. This place won't last long
Mitchell
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 11:49 a.m.
Totally Lame
Ethics Advocate
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 11:16 a.m.
The article only cited breakfast/brunch food. I assume they also serve lunch. What about dinner?
SemperFi
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 10 a.m.
I'll check it out. I'm not detered by a $8 omelet if its good. Downtown real estate isn't as cheap as, say getting a spot at the Georgetown Mall.
breadman
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 9:53 a.m.
No wonder why they had coupons out for a bogo..... Lets see the the prices?
Hmm
Wed, Dec 1, 2010 : 8:33 a.m.
Gonna have to check em out