Business & Tech

Black Rock Restaurant to Open Novi Location

The restaurant features rock cooking at the table.

Black Rock Bar & Grill is coming to Novi.

The owners of the popular Hartland restaurant plan to open a second location in Novi in April.

"We're bringing Novi something that they'll enjoy. We're going to work hard for them," said Lonny Morganroth, who co-owns the restaurants with his wife, Janette.

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The Novi restaurant will be located in Fountain Walk at the previous Godaiko location. It will be very similar to the original Hartland restaurant, which opened in the fall of 2010.

Black Rock features rock cooking, a unique style in which customers can cook their food themselves at their table. It requires a heated granite stone that can be placed on the table at about 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

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>>Watch how rock cooking works in the video, right.

Rock cooking was born in Australia and has been used in such places as Germany, Aruba and many parts of the United States.  It was Aruba where the Morganroths first experienced rock cooking and where the idea originated to bring the concept here.

The upscale, yet kid-friendly eatery will also offer specialty items such as foot-long hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough, stuffed burgers, and a frozen pop machine. And while the concept and service will be upscale, the restaurant will offer most dinners from $15-20. Other featured menu items include pizza, white fish, salmon and ribs.

"We offer high-end food but at affordable prices," Morganroth said.

The Novi location will offer seasonal outdoor seating, but unlike the Hartland restaurant, it will not have a banquet facility. 

Morganroth said they chose Novi for the restaurant's second location because it is centrally located and is a good community. His sons played in the Novi youth hockey program, so he said his family has long been a fan of the area. 

"We've always loved Novi. It's a good area," Morganroth said. "I think Novi is kind of a good match for Black Rock. We were looking at other locations, and I don't know how you can get any better than Novi."

Morganroth said the Hartland restaurant is always packed for dinner, and he thinks the Novi location will do well with both dinner and lunch.

"Our volume in Hartland is off the charts. People drive a long way to eat here. We had someone drive from Kalkaska, that's a four-hour drive, to eat here, and that's unique," he said.

"It will be a nice place for Novi to go and get a unique experience different than they already have."


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