A new business will fill former Jim Brady’s space in downtown Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, MI — New life is coming to a vacant building in downtown Ann Arbor as a restaurant gets ready to open in the new year.

The storefront at 209 S. Main St. will soon transform into an Asian fusion restaurant called Tabe. The space was formerly Jim Brady’s which was known for seafood and closed in January 2023. The building has been vacant since.

Read more: Jim Brady’s Ann Arbor to permanently close, owner says

168 Group is behind the new Asian concept and runs other businesses, including 168 Asian Mart, 168 Nail Supply, Pop Chicken, Beyond Home, Lao Pot and Fuji Buffet, in cities like Madison Heights and Warren.

Jieyu Wang, 168 Group’s chief administrative officer, said Tabe plans to be a high-end Asian fusion restaurant focusing on sharing Asian cultures. The restaurant is set to open around the Lunar New Year holiday in February, she said.

The group’s owner, Cindy Wang, is compelled to branch out to Ann Arbor, not only to do something new, but to serve a city full of young professionals, Wang said. The menu will feature Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Filipino flavors.

The second floor will offer a bar that Wang said will be the perfect spot for people looking for an after-work happy hour.

“We will really blend the food and the culture together,” she said.

Cindy Wang began the business alongside her husband, Ricky Dong, who died a couple years ago. While some of 168 Group’s businesses are run by different shareholders, Tabe will be run by Cindy Wang.

The restaurant will also feature different experiences based on what floor a customer dines on. The first floor will be more casual and an option for lunch, the second floor will be tailored more to Japanese dishes and the third floor will be geared toward hosting private parties.

The menus will offer traditional dishes, along with fusion meals, Jieyu Wang said. Customers comfortable ordering Asian meals can select their own dishes. If they aren’t sure what to get, they can have the restaurant’s chef pick for them.

168 Group is currently upgrading the downtown Ann Arbor building, Jieyu Wang said. She said it will offer a new atmosphere decorated with true Asian designs and styles, like Chinese calligraphy and a Japanese garden. There will also be cultural performances offered.

“I would just say we really want (not) only (the) food that we provide to be high end, but also the culture we present,” she said. “(We want) people to sit down, to eat and also experience not just the food but the environment.”

Learn more about 168 Group online.

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