Melway, the smashburger pop-up known for selling out its patties almost as fast as it fires up the griddle, is finally getting a permanent home. Owner Melanie McElroy is bringing the business to the long-empty storefront at Joseph Campau and Caniff in Hamtramck, the space long known as Campau Tower, with an opening planned for 2027.
From Pop-Up to Permanent Storefront
Melway will move into the former Campau Tower location, which most recently served as the Dos Locos Tacos space before that restaurant closed, according to The Detroit News. Campau Tower had itself expanded over the years to include the adjacent New Martha Washington Bakery space, which closed in 2022, per the same report. The dual storefront is planned to house both Melway's burger counter and a separate shop selling beef from McElroy's family cattle ranch.
McElroy told the newspaper the location holds personal history for her — Campau Tower was a favorite late-night haunt of hers, and she has been searching for a permanent space to plant her pop-up business. Craig Brown, a realtor, musician and Hamtramck resident, represented McElroy in the property sale, the outlet reports. Detroit News reporter Melody Baetens notes McElroy said she is honored to revive the family-owned properties' next chapter and wants to continue Joseph Campau Avenue's tradition of small, family-operated food businesses.
A Butcher Shop, Bakery and Distribution Hub Rolled Into One
The planned business will function as more than just a burger stand. It's intended to serve as a farmstand, butcher shop, cafe, bakery and distribution hub, with the distribution side supporting community and mutual-aid programs, according to The Detroit News. McElroy lives in Detroit but is a former Hamtramck resident, and she plans to use the second storefront specifically for distributing her family's grass-fed beef business.
That beef comes from the family's cattle ranch in Hillsdale, which produces 100% grass-fed beef, per the Detroit News report. Hour Detroit has previously described McElroy Farms as an 800-acre operation where cattle graze freely under regenerative farming practices. The McElroy Homestead Farm website notes the farm is also home to Gotland sheep, horses and hogs alongside its cattle.
The Butcher Behind the Burger
Melway itself is a joint collaboration between McElroy and Nicholas Ponte, who serves as the operation's in-house butcher and chef after previously working as head butcher at Marrow, according to Hour Detroit. Currently, Melway runs as an outdoor pop-up built around what the outlet described as essentially an indoor burger stand set piece. Its smashburgers, made with the grass-finished beef from Hillsdale, sell out regularly.
Hour Detroit has also singled out Melway as a burger concept that leans in entirely on the format rather than treating it as a side project, a distinction the outlet said sets it apart within Detroit's evolving fine-dining burger scene. The publication has noted more broadly that pop-ups give chefs room to test an idea before committing to a permanent build-out — a path McElroy now appears ready to complete in Hamtramck.
A Storefront With a Long Food-Service History
The Joseph Campau storefront has changed hands and concepts before. Eater Detroit reported that Dos Locos Tacos opened in the former Campau Tower space in February 2018 at 10337 Joseph Campau, replacing the location's longtime burger-and-hot-dog menu with tacos, burritos and quesadillas. By 2022, Dos Locos had expanded next door into the former New Martha Washington Bakery space, according to Axios Detroit.
Before any of that, Campau Tower was remembered as a 24-hour institution that served late-night customers, according to Motor City Burger Club. Now Melway's arrival marks another turn for a storefront that has repeatedly reinvented itself along Joseph Campau, a stretch of Hamtramck that The Detroit News has previously described as home to a growing mix of small shops, cocktail bars and cafes.
