By Barrett Dolata, The Detroit News

Marrow’s Birmingham eatery and butcher shop just cut the ribbon on its brand-new outdoor seating and office catering services. With charcuterie and sliders garnished with a pickle skewer, the 283 Hamilton Row location was officially dedicated at a ceremony with the Birmingham and Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

“We’re happy to welcome Marrow to the community,” says Laila Broughton, membership engagement manager at Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce. “It’s just great to have more diversity in offerings and it’s just different to have some place that focuses on Michigan producers.”

As a fast-casual spin on its first Detroit West Village location, the neighborhood butcher shop had a soft opening six months ago in its 1,400-square-foot space. Although the first location outside of Detroit, the company has been selling at the Birmingham farmers market for more than two years, becoming a fresh staple in the community and reinstating their commitment to Michigan’s agricultural sector.

The shop features fresh local meats, wine and gourmet sundries as well as breakfast and lunch options and now has 12 outdoor patio seats, offering catering options, too.

The Marrow empire, established by Ping Ho in fall 2017, spans a fine dining restaurant and butcher shop off Kercheval, a grab-and-go Birmingham location, and her retail brand Marrow Detroit Provisions in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market. Their specialty sausages, bacon and burgers can also be found in grocers throughout Metro Detroit, like Busch’s, Plum Market and many more.

Ho’s latest venture — a restaurant, flagship store and USDA meat processing facility on Riopelle Street in the Eastern Market — is set to open by the end of summer. Ho says her goal is to make it “very experiential,” where you can literally watch your sausage being processed.

“My inspiration to open Marrow back in 2017 was offering a spot where someone could come in and talk to a butcher and be like, ‘Oh, what is this cut? Tell me more about it,’ says Ho. “Look at what’s fresh in the case, and be inspired to then put it on the table and cook that night.”

Growing up in Singapore, Ho often accompanied her grandmother to “wet markets,” which exposed her to the important connections between butchers and buyers. When Ho moved to Detroit in 2015, she says it was a bit of a food desert with only a few grocery stores.

“We’re surrounded by farmland,” Ho said she thought to herself. “There must be a way to work directly with farmers and to source good meat.”

She developed a business that operates on three principles: teaching consumers about ethical and sustainable eating practices, working with industry partners to enhance and reform existing processes and developing innovative solutions and superior products.

Interestingly enough, Ho says, “I don’t actually eat a lot of meat, like in large quantities, but eat good meat less often and literally just taste the difference.”

Now, Ho has populated the Detroit dining scene with her methodology, resulting in four James Beard Foundation nominations and recognition from several national publications. Ho has also introduced The Royce, a wine bar, to Detroit and a seafood restaurant, Mink, with the same fresh plan of bringing the food cycle back to the basics.

Her baby, Marrow, not only provides quality and locally sourced products for those consuming the meat, but also emphasizes hospitality for Marrow staff. Heather Ratliff, vice president of sales and operations, noted that Marrow is a woman-run business.

“Cody (director of retail and production) has more women butchers on his team than you knew existed,” says Ratliff.

At the grand opening, Ho introduced new culinary director Andrew Shedden, coming all the way from Oregon, who will be helping with Birmingham and launching Marrow’s new Eastern Market restaurant.

“The team is really extremely talented, and I think that just speaks to Ping’s leadership,” says Shedden. “Everyone here has been here for years, and people don’t leave.”

In 2023, Shedden opened the Tavern at Heathman Hotel in Oregon and has worked at a slew of well-known restaurants in Chicago, including Lettuce Entertain, Maple and Ash and STK Steakhouse. Locally, Shedden worked at Olin Bar and Kitchen, Highlands and more.

“I’ve worked at a lot of different types of restaurants, in really big ones and in really small ones, and owners are all unique,” says Shedden. “I think the ones that want to get involved and that have a message are really the ones to get behind.”

As he takes on his role in Birmingham and as the opening date of the Eastern Market expansion nears, Shedden says he will formulate his own menu to start and will slowly transition to another chef to fill it. He described the new setting as a “big steakhouse vibe.”

“Within each location, we let everybody have the autonomy to do their job and be creative and bring the things that they want to bring to the table,” says Shedden. “And then for me, it’s how do I support them in that role, making sure that they have the training materials and whatever they might need.”

The creative freedom extends to the basics of the brand, where both Shedden’s and Ho’s passion for quality ingredients shines through.

“The cattle that we use a lot of are up in northern Michigan, eating a lot of cherries and a lot of fruit, so it really starts to show through the meat,” says Shedden. “And kind of get some late notes of sweetness and stuff like earthy tones, which are just unmatched.”