Wheat & Rye closes Romulus location near Metro Airport for pending remodel
The Wheat & Rye Bar & Grill in Romulus, just minutes from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, has closed.
On Merriman Road, north of the airport and the Interstate 94 freeway, the bar and restaurant known as the Airport Wheat & Rye was well known for its big sandwiches, like stacked corned beef and other sandwiches, hearty entrees and burgers.
An internet search lists Wheat & Rye in Romulus as “permanently closed,” per its Google listing.
Reached by phone Monday morning, June 8, owner Martin DaRonco told the Free Press they closed the Romulus location two weeks ago.
“Business was getting a little slower, so we figured we needed a facelift and refreshed menu,” DaRonco said. “We plan on remodeling and reopening before football season. That is the plan.”
There are Wheat & Rye locations in Allen Park and Southgate, which are open. Its Allen Park location opened in 1981 and is its longest-standing. Over the decades, DaRonco said Wheat & Rye locations were once in Dearborn Heights, Grosse Pointe and Westland.
The Giant Corned Beef sandwich at the Wheat & Rye Bar & Grill in Allen Park.
In Romulus, DaRonca said, the location opened a few years after the Allen Park location. After running it a few years, the building was torn down, DaRonco said, and a new one was built and set further back on the property.
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