Brother Gary Wegner

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Detroit soup kitchen trades cafeteria lines for full-service meals

As of September 2026: Leading the Meldrum renovation into Refettorio Detroit

A Detroit soup kitchen serving about 1,000 meals a day is trading its cafeteria line for a sit-down restaurant, part of a $2.4 million renovation into Refettorio Detroit. Guests at the Meldrum Community Center will get a starter, entrée, dessert and coffee at rectangular tables meant for conversation, with service expected to begin in early February 2027.

Updated Sep 25

Notable Quotes

"None of us are just walking stomachs and neither are our guests. They have hearts and they have brains and hopefully some of the art, the culture, will also feed those spirits as well."

from Detroit soup kitchen trades cafeteria lines for full-service meals · Updated Sep 25

"We started with sandwiches being handed out at the door of the monastery to the soup kitchen, which was mostly soup, to meals, and now this is table service."

from Detroit soup kitchen trades cafeteria lines for full-service meals · Updated Sep 25