Daily Jam is Grosse Pointe’s newest brunch restaurant, featuring Southwest-inspired cuisine using locally sourced ingredients served in an airy, contemporary setting on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods.
The vibe is laid back and casual, true to the original Daily Jam, a neighborhood favorite located in the artsy downtown of Tempe, Arizona, popular with students at nearby Arizona State University.
The result? Grosse Pointers have a new location for casual dining that is light, airy and family-friendly.
Daily Jam offers brunch favorites such as waffles, avocado toast, egg scrambles, hot melts, and cold sandwiches. There are vegan selections featuring vegan chorizo and cheese, and most items can be prepared gluten-free on request. A Little Jammers menu offers kids sure-to-please items such as Mickey pancakes with whipped cream, PB&J sandwiches with chips, and more.
A full bar menu offers hand-crafted breakfast cocktails, including classic favorites, a selection of local craft beers, and fruit and protein smoothies. There are gourmet caffeine drinks, too, including espresso coffees with steamed milk (soy, almond, and oat), lattes, and nitro cold brew coffee, plus chai and macha tea and hot chocolate.
The menu has a Southwestern flair, with an emphasis on fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, according to co-owners Anthony Ansara and Dan Curis. “Our menu is unique, and true to Daily Jam’s Arizona roots,” says Anthony. That means standard breakfast/brunch choices with all the trimmings you’d expect to find at the original location, such as Gunslinger hot sauce, two different housemade salsas (ranchero and red), plus can’t-live-without breakfast burrito options like juevos and chorizo.
Daily Jam’s Michigan locations (Grosse Pointe follows Farmington Hills, which opened in 2023) incorporate regional ingredients. The menu also has some modifications for the Michigan palate.
“We toned down the Chilaquiles a bit, cutting the peppers by half, and added sandwiches such as a burger and a wrap,” Anthony reports. The plan is to rotate seasonal selections, so look for pumpkin dish options in the fall.
“We locally source as many items as we can, to showcase regional artisan products and keep the flavors fresh,” he adds. That includes purchasing products from Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Co. (Bloomfield Hills), bread from Cantoro’s Bakery, and Great Lakes Potato Chip Co. Wine and champagne are supplied by Vintage Wine Company, a Grosse Pointe distributor. Beer on tap includes Someday Brewery craft brew.
“We want Daily Jam to be a place Grosse Pointers can come to hold a business meeting, or just enjoy a good breakfast or lunch,” says Anthony. “We both grew up in the business and intend to be very involved.”
The names Ansara and Curis are well known in the Michigan restaurant community. Both families have been in the restaurant business since the 1960s. Their grandfathers partnered in several Big Boy restaurants. The Ansaras brought Red Robin and Twin Peaks restaurants to locations throughout Michigan and Ohio.
Dan Curis’s family owned and operated the Big Boy on Mack for 48 years, and still owns and operates Champ’s Rotisserie. Dan grew up here and attended Grosse Pointe North High School. Anthony grew up in Farmington Hills and lives in Birmingham.
So it was only natural that the third-generation partners chose the former Big Boy site as home for their second Michigan Daily Jam location.
The building has undergone an extensive renovation, including the installation of new flooring, lighting, ventilation, kitchen equipment, booths, tables, and chairs. A large bar has been installed running full-length at the back of the space. “We basically gutted the entire back of the house,” Anthony reports.
The result is a light, airy, contemporary feel.
They’ve hired about 50 people (cooks and servers), including many former staff from Big Boy.
“Our intention is to create a space where families can relax, have fun and have a drink,” says Anthony. “We kept dietary needs top of mind, with a lot of vegan and gluten-free options. Any dish can be modified on request and served gluten-free.
“We are all-inclusive, and want everyone to feel welcome at Daily Jam, and know they are going to enjoy a good healthy meal in a comfortable, fun, lively space.”
The driving force was to bring that Daily Jam vibe from Tempe (which Anthony’s brother discovered and really loved while he was an undergrad at ASU) to Grosse Pointe. The original owners were a family who operated the location for 10 years before selling it to an investment group. Anthony and Dan partnered with that investment group.
“It was a place that my brother always really loved when he was in college, and we wanted to recreate that vibe and bring it here to Grosse Pointe,” says Anthony. The response in Farmington Hills has been really great.
“The goal is to establish another 50-year legacy in Grosse Pointe with Daily Jam,” Dan says.
Future plans are in the works to expand Daily Jam into additional communities around the state.
Daily Jam is at 20710 Mack Avenue, Grosse Pointe Woods, and open 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. every day. Check out the menu at: www.mydailyjam.com
The vibe is laid back and fun.
The original Daily Jam is located across the street from the historic Hayden Flour Mill in Tempe, Arizona. It was begun by a family who owned and operated it for 10 years, and remains a beloved fixture of the neighborhood to this day.
Fans include Anthony Ansara’s youngest brother, Nick, who discovered Daily Jam while he was a student at nearby Arizona State University. Nick told Anthony, who checked it out when he came to visit. Anthony liked it so much that he and his childhood friend, Dan, partnered with the company that bought the rights from the original owners.
“It was a place that my brother always really loved, and we wanted to recreate that vibe and bring it to Michigan,” says Anthony.
The goal is to establish another 50-year legacy in Grosse Pointe with Daily Jam.
Our intention is to create a space where families can relax and have fun.