Chef Max Hardy’s Jed’s Pizza Offers Elevated Comfort Food

There’s no shame in indulging in comfort food every now and then. Chef Max Hardy hopes his new restaurant will become a favorite for Detroiters whenever they give in to the urge. Jed’s Detroit – not to be confused with Jet’s, thank you very much – opened in December. It’s a fast-causal takeout setup serving artisanal pizzas, burgers and entrees with Hardy’s twist. A special feature are the Fireballs, boneless chicken tender bowls smothered in a variety of toppings. 

He’d planned to open in May but couldn’t for obvious reasons. “I really wanted to open up a place that focused on making food people eat every day and doing that the right way. That’s the kind of food I like to eat, too, so putting my own small spins on the recipes is really enjoyable,” he says.

Hardy – named one of the 16 Black chefs changing food in America by the New York Times in 2019 – is a Detroit native who spent time working in New York and Miami before coming back home. His other successful restaurant, Coop Caribbean Fusion, is housed inside Detroit Shipping Company. 

“I grew up on the west side, but I didn’t discover I loved cooking until we moved to Tampa. My high school had a chef come talk to us about culinary arts and that was it,” Hardy says. Jed’s is actually a franchise transplant from Toledo, the first in Detroit and the 16th between Ohio and Michigan.

Hardy says, “Securing everything during the pandemic was hard, but it gave me time to fine-tune the personal touches I get to add. I had a lot of fun spicing up the Fireball combinations, adding a little bit of Detroit authenticity.”

@jedsdetroit 

1648 E. Seven Mile, Detroit