Cafe Mamo

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Grandma's Garden, Realized

Established in 2019, Café Mamo takes its name from Mike's grandmother — a champion of local food systems, urban gardening, and community engagement. That spirit shapes everything here, from the weekly-changing menu built around what Michigan farmers say is ready and delicious, to the way every guest is treated with the same care that went into building the place itself.

The building at the corner of Sweet and Plainfield was once a Texaco gas station, later a phone store. Chef Michael Goessman and General Manager and Sommelier Summer Knoop transformed it — largely with their own hands, with help from friends, family, and community — into a small but deliberate American restaurant that punches well above its size.

The Kitchen

Chef Goessman hails from Montana and brings a wide range of experience, from bar and grilles to Michelin-starred tasting menus. He trained under James Beard–nominated chef Brian Menges and has cooked across Puget Sound, New York City, and Nashville. At Café Mamo, he applies classical technique to whatever is seasonally available, sourcing exclusively from Michigan farmers and ranchers he knows by name. The menu updates every week — the house rolls and half chicken are the only constants. If a dish moved you last visit, it may not return for a year.

The Wine

Summer Knoop holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines and is a Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier. She previously worked as Sommelier at the Michelin-starred La Sirena and as Head Sommelier at Lupa in Greenwich Village. Her wine program earned Café Mamo the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2022 — recognition that reflects a list described as having something for everyone, curated with genuine conviction rather than convention. The full bar also rotates cocktails, mocktails, and beer, all subject to the sommelier's whim.

Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday with 50% off bottles under $60. For those who want to go deeper, the in-person Wine Club delivers three bottles monthly — reds, whites, rosé, and sparkling — with producer notes, regional context, and pairing suggestions selected by Knoop herself.

The Ethos

Café Mamo hosts special events including multi-course wine pairing dinners that spotlight local producers, such as a five-course dinner paired with wines from Michigan women-led wineries. It is the kind of American restaurant where the food is honest, the wine is taken seriously, and the hospitality feels personal — because it is.