Vivio's Detroit Eastern Market

Vivios has been around for over 50 years and is a Detroit institution located in the Eastern Market district which is increadibly historic.

I had the cobb salad which was very good and fed me for a couple of days. Also had one of their famous Bloody Marys which goes with anything including another Bloody Mary. Really can't go wrong. This place sure brings back memories.

My grandfather used to bring me down here when I was a kid to buy produce, candy and meats from the hundreds of vendors that set up shop every Saturday. That was always fun but we would also go to Vivios for lunch and of coarse he knew the owner and hundreds of other people in the area. While at lunch, he used to tell me stories about when he was a kid, born over a Corktown bar in 1902 and how his family lived in and ran that bar. At the age of 10, he would drive a horse drawn waggon over to the train station to pick up produce and then deliver it to Eastern Market to be sold. It is amazing that this very same process goes on today although there have been changes to the logistics side of things. We still buy lots of produce on every visit.

After a great lunch at Vivios, Gramps as we called him back in the day would take us next door to see his buddies at Hertz and have us ride the old freight elevator (Gramps was a grocer and knew everybody). At Hertz, we would get our dessert, usually a bag of european candy that you can't get anywhere else. Great memories !

So to keep the nostalgia train rolling, my brother whom I was dining with and I wandered over to Hertz (new owners, still says Hertz and a date from the 1887 on top). We bought candy, cheese and tea and took a ride on the old freight elevator. Some things never change

The market is a historic gem which is still in high use and a lot of fun. If you have never been, you are missing out. Brings back a lot of memories for us older people (notice I didn't say old) and is building future memories for the young.