The owner of a new Farmington restaurant will pay to move a 128-year-old barn that preservationists have campaigned to save.
West Bloomfield resident En Xie, who purchased the former Grand Bakery & Cafe and adjacent property on Grand River, originally intended to raze the house and barn. His plans include opening a sushi bar in the existing commercial building within the next few months and a hibachi steak house later this year.
Preservation Farmington, working with the city’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA), put out a call on social media offering the barn free of charge to anyone who would pay to move it. The posts were viewed hundreds of times and resulted in more than 130 inquiries, none of which came through.
Disassembly of the barn will begin this week; it will move on pallets to the Pine Grove Historical Museum in Pontiac, where the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society will give it a home and care for it.
Read more about the history of the property:
ICONIC FARMINGTON HOUSE, BARN WILL FALL (OR MOVE) FOR PARKING
Read more coverage of this story:
- Sushi restaurant owner saves 128-year-old barn in Farmington (Crain’s Detroit Business)
- 128-year-old Farmington barn to be moved to Pontiac historical park (The Oakland Press)
- Sushi restaurant owner saves 1890s barn in Farmington (Detroit Free Press)
