Mid-Michigan Dining

• 21755 Michigan Avenue
• Dearborn, MI 48124
• (313) 274-6100
• Website

Westborn Market in downtown Dearborn.

 We had no intention of shopping in downtown Dearborn on Sunday.  My parents were in town and we were looking for something to do.  My dad is a car fan and J thought a trip to The Henry Ford Musuem could be interesting.  After a quick Google search, I remembered there was a Cheli’s Chili in Dearborn and even though Chelios is a Red Wing now, he’s a Chicago boy first, so I’ve been wanting to go to his restaurant.  We got there about five minutes before the restaurant opened.  My mom noticed a flower shop across the street which led us to see a Fruit Market across the street from that.  So, to kill a little time, we headed across Michigan Avenue. 

Westborn Market is a small group of stores in the Detroit area.  Besides the one in Dearborn, there are stores in Berkely and Livonia.  The Dearborn store is on Michigan Avenue at Oakwood  Boulevard.  From the street, it looks like any neighborhood grocery store, but that impression quickly changes you walk inside. 

The first area of the store is an open air fruit market.  It’s covered by a permanent structure, but there are no window or doors….at least when it’s nice like it was the day we stopped.  They have a huge variety of fresh produce.  When we walked in, J called it a cross between Whole Foods and Horrocks.  They had the variety and nice displays of a Whole Foods, but they didn’t have the Whole Foods prices. 

After checking out the fruit, we walked to the next room where the meat, bread, and general grocery items are.  Although, before that, we checked out the dessert case which had an array of homemade goodies. 

Like Horrocks and Whole Foods, Westborn doesn’t carry name brand items, but instead, opts for quality off brands.  They have stacks of homemade breads, fine cheeses, and of course, a good size meat case with a butcher.  There’s even a deli counter where you can grab a quick lunch. 

Westborn Market on the corner of Michigan and Oakwood in Dearborn.

Throughout the store, there are a number of free samples.  The ones I happened to find were their own olive oil dipping sauces and multiple cheeses.  I kept going back to the cheese aisle hoping to find more samples.

My mom picked up some oranges she had never heard of and a few desserts.  As she was paying, my dad got my attention from the beer aisle.  They had a six pack of Schlitz bottles.  He asked if I wanted to drink some cheap beer when we got home.  I passed.  I knew if we got it, I would have Schlitz in my fridge for quite a while.

Even my dad, who’s not a grocery shopper, says he wishes we had brought a cooler.  There were a lot of great finds that we just couldn’t take advantage of due to the heat and the fact we weren’t going to be near a fridge for seven hours.  Wish there was a Westborn a little closer, but if you’re in the area for some reason, this place is worth a stop.