To get the attention of Gabriel and Gabriela Botezan simultaneously, some friends simply say “G2!” or “Gabi Gabi!” So, it seemed only fitting to call their first restaurant “Bar Gabi.”
The husband-and-wife team have been a force for years at local restaurants. Gabriel is the former chef de cuisine of Southfield’s legendary Bacco Ristorante. In 2015, Gabriela made the transition from an administrative assistant to something more hands-on.
“I was pregnant with our first daughter,” recalls Gabriela. “It was probably the craving, but I spent so many days and nights online [researching] these ideas for pastries.”
She missed the delicate sweets from her years in Romania (she was born in Transylvania; her husband in Bucharest). As a side hustle, she started a small-scale baking business out of the Botezans’ home kitchen. Then, as fate would have it one Saturday, she got a call from her husband: the pastry chef had called off, and he needed her to fill in.
“I freaked out. I said, ‘Hell no, it’s Bacco!’” she remembers. But Gabriel persuaded her. And she’s glad he did: “It was the best decision ever, because something kicked in. I swear, the minute service started, everything just made sense.”
From then on, she was in charge of pastries. And in 2024, the couple went on to work together at Detroit’s Adelina, which Gabriel helped open with fellow Bacco veteran chef Marco Dalla Fontana. There, Gabriela wrote the acclaimed dessert menu.
The couple has long dreamed of opening their own restaurant, and they describe the space at John R Road as “like our second home.” They began doing pop-ups in 2019 at Framebar, which previously occupied the property where Bar Gabi is set to open.
Framebar, a unique restaurant concept with regularly rotating pop-ups, closed abruptly in 2024 following a story published by Eater Detroit which reported the business’s model made it “virtually impossible for pop-ups to profit.” The couple is in the process of buying the building on a land contract from an LLC linked to Framebar’s former owners Joe and Cari Vaughn, Bar Gabi’s publicist tells Hour Detroit.
Gabriel describes the cuisine at Bar Gabi as “Romanian, with a modern twist.” He explains, “If you go to Romania right now, you’re not going to find just Romanian food. Most of the restaurants, they kind of took this Western concept of having a little bit of everything. …We’ll take that concept of a melting pot, and we’re going to put our own twist on traditional dishes.”
Guests at Bar Gabi can expect Romanian staples like mititei, a traditional, garlic and spice-forward minced meat roll similar to Balkan cevapi. Transylvanian goulash, a comforting stew prepared with peppers and herbs, will also be on the menu.
The “melting pot” element will include a tomahawk pork schnitzel sprinkled with smoked paprika; octopus; some Spanish dishes; and a frequently changing selection of house-made pastas (the couple are well-versed in Italian dining, after all).
The menu will undergo seasonal changes, and Gabriel says he’s making an effort to highlight Michigan ingredients whenever possible, with dishes that draw connections to Romania.
For instance: “Up in the mountains [near Bucharest], trout is very popular,” Gabriel says. Bar Gabi’s rainbow trout with charred lemon, fennel, and gremolata will incorporate fish from Indian Brook Trout Farm in Jackson. Other Michigan vendors will include Otto’s Chicken, Fairway Packing, Del Bene Produce, and Motor City Seafood.
Gabriela’s pastries will also be a highlight: she’s putting together a menu inspired by traditional Romanian recipes. Guests will also find her focaccia and signature tiramisu, which she’s served an iteration of just about everywhere she’s worked. She notes: “I don’t like to repeat myself. I’m gonna have to come up with yet another version, because everyone loves it.”
For the restaurant’s look, the couple is working with Detroit-based Colin Tury of Tury Design, whose portfolio includes the striking interiors of local establishments like Vecino, Pocket Change, Fred’s, and Supino’s Eastern Market location.
“We’re going to try really hard to create our own identity,” Gabriela says. “It will be clean-cut with Romanian accents here and there, and an art wall. And moody — that’s the concept. It’s a moody place.”
The dining room will seat about 70, and the space where pop-ups used to take place will be transformed into an area for private events. Though they don’t have an opening date nailed down just yet, the Botezans anticipate the restaurant will open for business this October.
They say they’re excited to open up shop in Hazel Park, where they’ll be neighbors with Mabel Gray (the Botezans note they have a good relationship with Chef James Rigato, who has shown up to support their pop-ups over the years). And they hope above all, to cultivate a place where people can get together.
“Culturally in Romania, people might complain, but we socialize — we’re dead without socializing,” Gabriela says. “After work, you’ll catch us all hanging out, having a coffee for three hours or something. [At Bar Gabi, we want] the whole vibe of hanging out and good company.”
Bar Gabi is slated to open next month at 23839 John R Road in Hazel Park. For updates, visit bargabi.com.
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