Prince Concepts

Magnet -> Barda

MAGNET -> BARDA, the elevated conversion of a tired 2,000 SF former Radiator Shop into an award winning restaurant. MAGNET was completed in September of 2019, closed in August of 2020 and reopened in July of 2021 as BARDA.

Magnet before the work began (Chris Miele, 2017)

Magnet, Fall 2019 (Chris Miele)

BARDA disappears behind a forest (Chris Miele, 2024)

After the success of TAKOI, we knew the way to activate quiet Core City was with one of our own restaurants.

New construction residential projects, like True North, won awards and invigorated the existing landscape, but with just 10 units, they also host a limited number of people.

We needed a place (and places) that service numbers. After the creation of Core City Park, we knew Ochre Bakery and Astro Coffee would activate during the day, MAGNET would activate at night; a restaurant that would host between, 2,500 to 4,000 guests per month.

Magnet building before any Core City activation (2015)

BARDA (Magnet Building) sitting within the Park and all its action (Chris Miele, 2024)

Prince Concepts purchased this building back in 2014 directly from the owners of the actual Magnet Radiator shop - a business that had roots in Detroit since 1917 and at this location since 1951.

When we first entered the property, it looked as if the doors had been locked one night after work and no-one ever returned. A roll of fresh (but dusty) paper was still on the fax machine. A bar of soap was still in the bathroom. Another Detroit story - a business and building left to fend for itself. It didn’t matter, we knew the building was something special.

Back of house, Magnet Building (2015)

Magnet Radiator - frozen in time (Philip Kafka, 2015)

Magnet Building (Chris Miele, 2017)

We bought the TAKOI building in 2013. Magnet was the second building we bought.

The properties shared a lot in common: both abandoned auto service shops, both one story block buildings, both with some extra land.

Magnet's position in Core City, as opposed to the already active, Corktown, introduced the opportunity to own land around the building. The site was sandwiched between an inactive, but iconic, Church and an empty lot.

The Church already made the corner feel like a place, and we knew the park we'd develop would make this corner feel like a place humans wanted to be.

Magnet Building, June 2009 (Google)

Takoi Building, June 2009 (Google)

Magnet Building - St. Leo's church to the S/E and the lot that would become Core City Park to the N/W (Chris Miele, 2017)

We put together the same team behind TAKOI and had at it.

Ishtiaq Rafiuddin - Architect

Jim Saad - General Contractor

Chef Brad Greenhill - Operating Partner

Greenhill and Kafka before the madness (Chris Miele, 2019)

Kafka, Saad and Rafiuddin flex after the difficult conversion (Randy Pardy 2019)

Rafiuddin and Kafka enjoy dinner at the Bar at Magnet during opening week (Randy Pardy, 2019)

When we began working on the building, the 60+ y/o roof caved in; a test of our dedication to the concept. We kept working...

After the roof caved in (Chris Miele, 2018)

A beautiful little box, you can already see the designated area for the bar (Chris Miele, 2018)

Building, with improvements, but now no roof (Chris Miele, 2018)

The work to sink the bar began before the old roof caved in (Chris Miele, 2018)

The restaurant was built around the oven (Chris Miele, 2019)

Blue Tile - floor, walls, bar top (Chris Miele, 2019)

We removed the old awning to discover an iconic logo (Chris Miele, 2019)

We used cork paint to give the block some texture (Chris Miele, 2019)

We painted everything black except the existing sign (Chris Miele, 2019)

Like at TAKOI, we used the door from a 1950s walk-in freezer as the entrance. These doors were pulled from our other project, 5K(Chris Miele, 2019)

MAGNET, ready to open (Chris Miele, 2019)

The result, a magnificent restaurant. A discovery. Simple, elemental, pure.

A black box to serve as a back drop for the trees that surround it. A kitchen houses just two pieces of equipment, both wood powered - a grill and oven. Period.

The design reflects this simplicity, and also features just two materials - tile and walnut.

For our second restaurant we wanted it to be “bar focused," so we put the bar smack dab in the middle of the space, sunk it (so all diners were seated at the same level) and seated 32 people around it.

We wanted to bring the elemental feel or fire out into the dining room, so we lit the space with a 2" thick neon tube where you can literally see the neon gas floating it's way around the one room restaurant.

A restaurant that helps you discover — a new neighborhood, harmony, and the beauty in simplicity.

(All photos in this section by Chris Miele unless otherwise noted)

Barda, 2021 (Rafael Gamo)

Entering BARDA (Rafael Gamo, 2021)

Exclusively wood-fire cooked food is served to an often packed house. Every seat at the same level, and always offering views of the immense plantings that surround the building.

(All photos by Chris Miele, 2024)

Magnet opened in September of 2019 and was packed every night until March of 2020. Everyone wanted a seat at the sunken bar...

After COVID, Greenhill and Kafka reorganized their restaurants and in July of 2021, Javier Bardauil, of Buenos Aires, Argentina opened BARDA in the Magnet building. Bardauil rented the restaurant, exactly as it had been built by Prince Concepts, turn key.

As a native born Argentine, cooking with wood fire was very natural for Bardauil.

Mayor Duggan and Kafka enjoy dinner at the Bar, opening night (Randy Pardy, 2019)

Bardauil playing with fire (Chris Miele, 2024)

In 2022 BARDA was named a finalist in "Best New Restaurant" category for the prestigious James Beard award.

As of Spring 2025, BARDA is still cooking fresh, fire kissed food, and offers the ultimate patio experience in Core City Park.

Patio in the Park (Rafael Gamo, 2021)

Fire (Chris Miele, 2019)