Launched:
2022
Owner:
Rich Muszynski
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C. King & Co.
Cafe
Where:
101 W Michigan Ave
The Inspiration
Richard Muszynski has two driving passions: Creating culinary experiences and restoring old buildings. After 30 years as a chef in places like San Francisco and Paris, Muszynski returned to his Michigan roots, bought a 200-year-old building in downtown Ypsi, and spent a few years transforming it into a mixed-use space. On the top floors, he built out industrial-style offices and a large event space. And on the first floor, he launched C. King & Co., where you can find him cooking up wood fired pizzas and caprese salads.
Step into the restaurant and you’ll see Muszynski’s purposeful vision on display, from the preserved exterior walls to the tin ceiling. Rather than modernize the building, Muszynski’s remodel focused on highlighting and preserving its historical elements, like the oak flooring he added, which is period-appropriate to the building’s creation.
Looking Forward
For Muszynski, who trained in densely populated markets across the U.S. and Europe, his architectural philosophy is to use space wisely.
“Every square inch needs to be designated to do something,” he said. This philosophy extends to Muszynski’s view of Ypsi, which he hopes attracts more small business in the years to come.
“Ypsilanti has all this old architecture and history,” Muszynski said, adding that he hopes more businesses set up shop with an eye to preserving and maximizing that historic charm.
