HUB Tavern + Grill
359 S. Kalamazoo MallIf it was up to me, I’d be at everyone of my kids’ competitions but, it’s not up to me.
Competitions typically run on Thursday and Friday’s and I only have so many days off.
I take the time off for the ones we have to travel to but for the closer to home ones, I typically only take Friday off.
Last week was the third week in back-to-back-to-back weekends. The competition was in Orland Park, IL which is only about a two hour drive. My plan was to work Thursday then head to Illinois after I got off work for the end of the competition day on Thursday. I’d then be there all day Friday and for B’s last skate on Saturday morning.
J and the kids like to be in a hotel the night before a competition. It’s better to just wake up in the city we’re competing in and do hair and make up there instead of trying to do it all at the rink. They left Wednesday night which left me on my own for dinner.
I left work and I started to drive towards fast food. I realized that was stupid. I had the opportunity to go out for a meal and I should take advantage of that. I turned around and headed back towards downtown to hit up a place I’ve been neglecting for far too long.
The Hub Tavern + Grill opened up on South Kalamazoo Mall near Lovell Street in late 2022. It took over the space that was formerly Central City Taphouse. It’s still owned by Millennium Restaurant Group but they did some renovations to the space and changed the menu after the Taphouse closed. The parking situation in downtown has changed in recent months so it’s easier if you just park in the Epic Center ramp and walk back to the restaurant. The first 90 minutes are free and it’s much easier than circling the one way streets looking for a street space. The restaurant is part of the Epic Center but has it’s own entrance to the north. There’s also some patio seating on the mall but you need to check in at the host stand first.
It has been a really long time since I was in this space. In 2010 when we went to Central City Taphouse for lunch, the space was divided in to two as the Taphouse shared the building with Epic Bistro. I remember the Taphouse being pretty small. We liked the food from the Taphouse but once they opened Centre Street Taphouse and eventually Sprinkle Road Taphouse, we never went back to the original downtown location.
HUB is much larger than I remember being the Taphouse being and that’s because it has both spaces that used to be divided in to two restaurants. There’s a large dining room when you walk in. There’s a combination of wood and tile flooring used to divide the space. The tables and chairs are solid wood and there is some bench seating along walls throughout the space.
The bar is in the same spot it was for Central City Taphouse. You have to walk through the dining room to get it it. There are some pub tables in the area as well alongside some large group sized tables. HUB isn’t really a sports bar per se but there are TV’s throughout the space.
The big thing leftover from the Taphouse is the draft beer system. There are 19 taps spread out along the bar.
So much to choose from but I’ve gotten boring in my old age and stuck to my go-to Two Hearted.
Wednesday night is the best night to go to HUB because it’s Hub Day. They actually have really great specials. Had I been paying attention, I absolutely would have went for that $2 Old Style pint. I didn’t notice it until after I had ordered. They also have really good food specials but a single smash wasn’t going to be enough food and I wasn’t really in the mood for a pizza after having Pizza Hut the night before. I considered the chicken tender basket but I wasn’t really feeling it
I kind of wanted a burger but not really. I ended up ordering Mitch’s Italian. This is a pretty classic Italian sandwich with salami, pepperoni, Wisconsin Brick Cheese, banana peppers, mayo, lettuce, tomato, Italian seasoning, and a red wine vinaigrette. The unique thing about this sandwich is that it’s served on focaccia. The sandwich was pretty large and packed with meat and veggies. The focaccia was really tasty but had a hard time holding on to all the ingredients inside. I really love a good Italian with a nice tangy vinaigrette and the sweetness from the banana peppers. I would really like this sandwich with giardiniera but I realize I’m not in Chicago so that’s asking for something that hasn’t even crossed most people’s minds.
I had asked for fries but when the plate came out, it had the chips. I didn’t say anything because these are home made chips so they actually looked really delicious. They’re really crispy with a little bit of flaky salt sticking to each of the sliced potatoes. These are the kind of chips that would be really good with some French onion dip. They’re really good without it though so I wasn’t mad at all that these came out instead of fries.
The cost for my meal was a little over $22 before tip but it could have been way cheaper with the Hub Day menu. I chose to go for full priced food because that’s what sounded good to me in the moment.
I have always like Millennium restaurants and The HUB Tavern + Grill is no exception. The place has been on my list since it opened but they don’t do any kind of online ordering so they haven’t really been an option for lunch while I’m at work and I just haven’t had a reason to eat dinner downtown in quite a while. Whenever I get these nights to go out to dinner alone, I kind of work my way through a mental list of bars I haven’t been to yet. There have been several times where I think I’m going to go HUB but end up somewhere else. It was time to finally cross this one off the list and I did so with a delicious dinner.
SW Michigan Dining 