Bone broth bar with hot fitness studio brings the heat to Detroit's Milwaukee Junction

In an Eastern Market-adjacent space, Lara Richli and chef Jennifer Jackson are taking sips of bone broth, Jackson squeezing drops of lemon here and adding dashes of herbs there. Five pounds of bones sourced from Fairway Packing Co. have simmered in water for 24 hours, leeching marrow, fats and minerals into quarts of chicken and beef broths. Oyster mushrooms and vegetables create an umami stock for a vegetable option.

The broth is flavorful, mildly salted and silky with a thin veil of fat that glosses your lips as you strain the warm liquid through your two front teeth from a white paper coffee cup stamped with the words “Hot Bones” across the center.

Richli and Jackson are testing recipes in development for Hot Bones, a forthcoming fitness studio and bone broth bar founded by Richli set to open in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. By February, the broths will have been finetuned with herbs and spices, the ratio of fat and marrow to broth perfected just in time for the opening of the multi-concept project. The chicken broth will be punched up with spicy ginger and lemongrass, beef with curry and mushroom with herbaceous cilantro and warm cumin.

Hot Bones is bringing the heat to The Boulevard, first in November with a Pilates and yoga studio designed to warm bodies with infrared heating panels, as opposed to elevating the temperature of the room in a traditional hot yoga class.

“Infrared rays heat your body from within — and they heat the ground as well — so the air itself doesn't feel hot or stuffy,” Richli explained, adding that the warming effect also helps to relax tense muscles throughout the workout. “You're able to go into deeper poses and be more flexible. That's the element that I was missing here.”

Richli, whose formative years were spent between Kenya, Germany and Switzerland, said she turned to yoga and Pilates classes when she moved to New York City a decade ago in an effort to build community in a new setting. When a job opportunity in Detroit presented itself to her fiance, the couple relocated and again, Richli sought out the fitness community.

In her quest, Richli discovered a gap in the market for infrared-heated classes, a practice she enjoyed during her time in NYC. Soon, she’d begin conversations with local instructors to gauge their interest in such a thing.

“This idea really started organically,” she said. “I was having conversations on the ground. Not only did I want it for me, but I wanted to see if there was a demand for it and I realized that there really is a desire for heated classes, but also a mix of yoga and Pilates together.” The ability to consolidate a membership that offers both practices under one roof seemed to be a common interest.

With yoga and HIIT studios aplenty in Detroit, the city lacks spaces for Pilates classes, the mind-body exercise designed to help strengthen, tone and isolate muscles. Pilates enthusiasts have otherwise traveled to Ferndale, Grosse Pointe, Birmingham and other surrounding communities. In addition to the power yoga, slow-burn yoga and restorative yoga classes it will offer, Hot Bones will be just one of two dedicated spaces for Pilates in Detroit and the only Detroit-based studio utilizing infrared heat for Pilates classes.

When the bone broth bar opens in February, Hot Bones will also become Michigan’s first hybrid bone broth bar and fitness studio.

“The wellness economy has become so overwhelming with all these things you're supposed to do,” Richli said. “You're supposed to journal and meditate and have your green smoothie and take your vitamins.”

The mission of Hot Bones is to simplify that premise, Richli said, "by creating this hybrid concept of having movement classes along with a bone broth bar, we’re creating a space where you're nourishing and honoring your body from the inside, but also the outside.”

Richli, who said she came to America with a global perspective, sees the fusion as a merging of two traditions with centuries-old wisdom.

“Bone broth is really the most nourishing multivitamin packed in one,” she said, citing benefits like promoting gut health and digestion and easing inflammation. “You can have it first thing in the morning, during the day as a liquid lunch packed with minerals or as a post-workout drink, as a snack or before bed. Low-impact yoga and Pilates workouts paired with this global remedy that every culture around the world has relied on to nourish the body, is a way of going back to basics and having a simple and straightforward concept.”

Guests can expect a simple approach to the design of the bone broth bar and fitness studio as well, with neutral tones, exposed beams and a concrete floor.

“Architecture and design is something I love, so we’re maintaining as much of the integrity of the space and its original profile as possible,” Richli said. “I got this idea of having the bare bones of things but in an elevated and beautiful way, drawing from wood, stone, steel and their organic colors and also celebrating the imperfection of textures.”

Accessibility is another cornerstone of the Hot Bones brand. On the fitness end, classes will be stocked with mats and yoga blocks to not distract from the studio’s aesthetic, but also to allow individuals without at-home equipment to participate.

Richli’s market analysis of the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood also unearthed statistics on a high population of elderly and low-income residents. With this in mind, Richli is working to develop classes for seniors with mobility limitations at a discounted rate and complimentary classes for those with affordability concerns.

Community classes for senior will be gentle flows focused on core strengthening and balance, and Richli is in talks with organizations such as SilverSneakers, which makes fitness programs available to seniors utilizing Medicaid services for free.

“In the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood, the average income is $19,000 a year. Resources like this are a response to the conversations I've been having on the ground with local residents in the neighborhood and asking, ‘What would make this accessible for you?’”

On the bone broth side, Richli is working to develop a subscription service to allow Hot Bones guests to enjoy the savory broths while the bar completes construction. For a monthly fee, subscribers will have an opportunity to warm up at home.

“Because the bone bar is going to take until February to open up, we’re going to offer a bone broth subscription so that you can order a monthly supply of broth delivered directly to your house,” Richli said. The timeline for the subscription service, she said, is still being finalized. “You’ll get a monthly delivery of just chicken, just beef or a mix depending on preferences.”

To celebrate the grand opening of the bone broth bar, Richli is also planning a tasting menu dinner inspired by the flavors reflected on the upcoming broth menu.

Hot Bones, which broke ground in October, comes just in time for the cooler months.

“I had this idea in the winter and so it also came from the realization that Michigan is so cold!” Richli laughed. “I just want a broth and a hot class and I just want to feel cozy.”

Hot Bones, 2895 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit. hotbonesdetroit.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hot Bones fitness studio with broth bar coming to Detroit