By Lisa Carolin
In with the new and out with the old…well not always.
Although Seitz Tavern closed in 2019 and Chelsea Burger will be opening in the same space in the spring of 2020, there will still be happy reminders of Seitz’s.
For example, Chelsea Burger’s owners Raunaq Savur and Paul Fredenberg will be keeping the bar for a seating area and they’ll also be keeping the familiar neon sign.
“We’re not getting rid of the ceramic tiles in front of the building,” said Fredenberg. “We’re donating them to the Chelsea Historical Society. We’re also donating the Seitz’s front door.”
“It’s a testament to Seitz’s and to Chelsea,” said Savur. “Randy (Seitz) and his wife played a huge role in this community.”
Both Savur and his family and Fredenberg and his family are new residents of Chelsea.
Fredenberg and his wife own a 55-acre farm, something his wife suggested after discovering that some of their 10 children had food allergies.
“Raising our own food has curtailed the allergies,” said Fredenberg. “We raise beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, chickens, and produce, and we want to bring as much of that as we can to the table at Chelsea Burger.”
They say their goal will be to make Chelsea Burger a comfortable gathering place where customers can stay as briefly or for as long as they want and where local food is offered.
“Our menu will be simple,” said Savur. “We’ll have cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes made with Guernsey ice cream and chocolate milk, along with cane sugar sodas, a vegetarian option, and seasonal additions.”
Savur and Fredenberg are excited to open a business in downtown Chelsea, something they’re calling “a family oriented kind of place”.
“There’s a feel about Chelsea,” said Savur. “People know each other. They’re invested in where they live, and we want Chelsea Burger to be a neighborhood place.”
Chelsea Burger’s address is 110 West Middle St., and the owners hope it will be ready to open in March.
Can’t wait for this to open Chelsea has needed a place down town for a family quality burger I hope you have GF options! As I and I’m sure many other’s are in need of
Honestly, that’s all I could think- I sure hope they have Gluten-Free options! 💗 Sure would be nice to have another place to safely eat in Chelsea.
We are locals that live in Ann Arbor but we are happy to see a hamburger place come to Chelsea although we love the food at Common Grill we also love a good burger place I’m from Downtown Detroit and I still go there once a month to eat at a burger place in downtown very happy to see this coming
Just please…no shellfish, even during seasonal times. My wife and I have been looking for a place to go to for a good burger and really don’t have anywhere we can go out to eat due to her allergy.