Downtown bar and restaurant challenge

As a lifelong Detroiter who has been living downtown for 11 years, I’ve found it amazing what you discover when you walk everywhere and get out of your routine, especially when it comes to places to eat and drink. There are new businesses that have just opened and older joints  that have been around for decades. These are the great spots that might not have the biggest marketing budgets but when you find them, you fall in love with the place…and the people who run it.

We’re all creatures of habit, so it’s easy to go to the few places you love over and over again, but this summer we’re challenging folks to try new places around downtown. For those that say, “I’ve been everywhere,”  or “There’s nothing to do downtown,” the #DXFchallenge is for you!

For years, my organization has been creating a checklist of downtown bars & restaurants that we give out at the D:hive Welcome Center and on all of our tours (now under our new brand the Detroit Experience Factory).

The total number of bars & restaurants in greater downtown (Downtown, Midtown, New Center, Corktown, Eastern Market, East Riverfront) is now at 275!

So this summer we decided to do a more interactive version of the checklist to encourage people to get out and visit as many of the 275 places as they could and then share their experiences via Instagram. On June 1st we launched the #DXFchallenge and we’ve had over 200 entries in just a couple of weeks. Everyone who posts even one photo with the hashtag #DXFchallenge will be entered to win cool prizes, but there will also be a monthly winner and a grand prize winner at the end of the summer as well. Head to www.weknowdetroit.com/challenge to find out more and we’ll see you downtown this summer!