Painter Dominick Lemonious started his career more than a decade ago thinking his future wasn’t in art at all—and certainly not in the concept he pioneered: an art gallery within a liquor store called Push Gallery at Liquor Basket Gratiot on Detroit’s East Side. Far from Midtown’s venerable Detroit Institute of the Arts and Carnegie Library, as well as from downtown’s historic skyscrapers, the East Side is an unlikely destination for those looking to explore the city’s extensive visual arts scene. But this facet of Motown is where a new generation of Black Detroit artists has quietly taken root, and Lemonious’ only-in-Detroit gallery is its hub.
Dominick Lemonious at the September 5, 2026, opening of Detroit Paradise at his Push Gallery
Courtesy of Dominick Lemonious
“In 2020, my family bought the liquor store. It was like a left turn for everybody,” Lemonious says. After finishing a business marketing degree a few years earlier, he found that his art practice soon evolved from pastime to passion.
“When I actually sat down and started to draw and paint, I felt that,” he says. Time spent under the tutelage of Detroit muralists Hubert Massey and Henry Heading and plugging into “a very open community of creatives” at the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club (DFAB), the painter says, was key to his emergence as an artist.
“That snowballed,” he says, when he combined his talents in painting with his business background and became an arts entrepreneur. “There was a very unique opportunity that laid in our lap, so my perspective was obviously I would do the marketing [of the family liquor store],” Lemonious says. “Eventually, as I began to bring more artists around the space, it was a no-brainer to put up art.”
The turning point was 2023 solo show Love, Appreciation & Celebration by Detroit photographer Elonte Davis. “Top artists and curators came to see the exhibition and the space … everyone came. It really looked crazy. There was art everywhere, and it was fun, refreshing, and it was new for a lot of people to be in such a familiar space with an overwhelming amount of art,” the painter says. “It stuck. And we’ve been going from there.”
See art at Push Gallery at Liquor Basket Gratiot
Push Gallery is inside a liquor store in Detroit’s East Side
Courtesy of Visit Detroit/Daniel “Moon” Truscott
Naturally, any exploration of the East Side’s creativity should start at Liquor Basket Gratiot’s Push Gallery. “Come to Push Gallery, we can point you in the right direction,” Lemonious says. Purchase some Gratiot merch, enjoy the hometown art, and stock up on Detroit-made snacks for a day on the town.
“Get a real taste of the city while you’re here,” the gallery founder says. “Interact with people and artists. We have a lot of Detroit brands in-store, so you have a chance to try Better Made chips and Vernors. It’s an all-in-one space. Experience Detroit from a different perspective.”
Nearby, another place to see art is Harper Galleries, owned by DFAB co-founder Henry Harper. The gallery sits on the East Side riverfront at the foot of the bridge to Belle Isle, an expansive park on an island in the Detroit River, and is open Thursdays through Sundays year-round.
Vintage cars on Gratiot Avenue
The Woodward Dream Cruise event
Courtesy of Visit Detroit
Pick a Sunday afternoon to drive along East Side artery Gratiot Avenue from the Liquor Basket and you may encounter the city’s deeply ingrained car culture. Lovingly maintained vintage rides—creeping slowly enough to get an eyeful—mix in with regular traffic.
The number of classic cars you’ll see increases around the time of North America’s biggest one-day automotive event, the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, in August on Woodward Avenue. Detroit’s automotive legacy includes the MotorCities National Heritage Area, the only National Park Service–affiliated place focused entirely on automotive history.
Go dancing on the Dequindre Cut
If you head southwest toward downtown, your drive will lead to the Dequindre Cut, a two-mile greenway crossed by Gratiot. “It goes from Eastern Market to the water. People are biking, jogging, walking, having picnics to enjoy the sun. There are murals and art along the way, and they have a summer series where people enjoy jazz and house music,” Lemonious says. “That’s another hidden gem in the city.”
All summer, the Dequindre Cut’s Freight Yardvenue hosts Detroit House Collective’s free Summer House Sundays series from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Grab a drink from the beer and wine garden, enjoy an outdoor game, spread out, and dance or simply relax.
Attend Eastern Market After Dark
Eastern Market After Dark
Courtesy of Visit Detroit
If cooler weather is more your speed, the artist recommends experiencing Detroit in September when Design Core’s Detroit Month of Design puts art at the forefront throughout town. One of its signature events, near the Dequindre Cut, is Eastern Market After Dark.
The all-ages festival brings some 125 artists to Eastern Market’s stalls, businesses, and streets, and runs late into the evening. “There’s a lot of hidden gems,” he says. Pull up to the Shadow Gallery for art, drinks, and music. Then, eat at Louie’s Ham & Corned Beef, an Eastern Market institution.
Where to eat on the East Side and beyond
For morning people, Lemonious suggests trying Clique Restaurant, a classic diner that’s famous for its breakfast spread. If you’re up for a drive, he recommends going a bit farther northwest for brunch at Le Petit Dejeuner or the Block, which also serves standout craft cocktails. Head back to Gratiot, not far from the Push Gallery, for an Afar-recommended dinner at the modern Moroccan bistro Saffron De Twah, a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist and Eater Detroit’s 2019 Restaurant of the Year. The restaurant temporarily closed earlier this year while its beloved head chef Omar Anani recovers from surgery, so you may want to check to ensure it has reopened before you go.
Check out Lemonious’ mural and an art event
To immerse yourself in Lemonious’ work, detour farther north to see his If My Mind Can Conceive It mural at the Lasky Recreation Center,housed in a beautiful 1940 WPA building. You might find yourself rubbing shoulders with the artist himself, as well as with other art icons, patrons, and rising stars at DFAB, the weekly art meet-up held in Marygrove Conservancy’s Madame Cadillac Main Dining Hall.
Traveling to France recently gave Lemonious a wider perspective about Detroit’s value proposition for locals and visitors. “Paris was full of energy and people everywhere you go, and that’s exactly how Detroit was structured. The architecture and the intention of this city was elite, so the bones are still here,” he says. “Now we’re being creative with it. We’re putting our own spin on it, using our own elements, our own tastes on what’s already here, and we’re making it our own. If you know, you know.”
