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When car enthusiasts in Detroit gather to show off their flashy vehicles, sometimes it has a ripple effect in the community.
During August, Fox News Digital attended Drift Indy, M1 Concourse and the Woodward Dream Cruise events in the Detroit suburbs to ask car enthusiasts and attendees whether they face challenges in building a community. Due to the rise of technology and the decline of various social activities such as bowling leagues, rotary clubs and church attendance, reports of loneliness have been on the rise.
“This is actually a great opportunity for you to come out and just socialize with people. This group is honestly nothing but chill vibes and just a good community,” Elie El-Haddad said.
Many find community in loving cars. But, among the experiences car enthusiasts shared with Fox News Digital, one story transcended beyond personal bonding.
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El-Haddad started the Eurotic of Detroit about a decade ago, becoming the eighth chapter nationwide. Eurotic focuses on European-made cars like BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes. The chapter meets weekly in the parking lot at DayCap Café based in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Sometimes the chapter meets in Royal Oak and downtown Detroit.
The Eurotic of Detroit chapter brought monetary value to a small business, El-Haddad touted.
“This is what all the car community is all about. You just come out, have fun, introduce yourself to new people, interact with new people and then, at the end of the day, we all love cars–we all have one hobby,” El-Haddad said.
Svenska Café was on the cusp of bank foreclosure during the coronavirus pandemic while businesses and school were locked down.
The coronavirus pandemic was an unprecedented public health crisis that led to small businesses across the country being forced to pause operations and even close due to the lack of financial support during the lockdown. DayCap was once called Svenska Café, a Swedish café that operated for seven years, under previous management.
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“The previous owner of Svenska was having difficulties keeping up with the rent bills… a lot of businesses were closing and then not a lot of people were working,” El-Haddad said.
El-Haddad said that the lack of foot traffic led to many businesses closing during the pandemic.
As Eurotic car shows were allowed to host events while practicing social distancing, El-Haddad and then-Svenska Café owner, Christina Bakalis, worked together while the coffee shop provided curbside pick-up for customers’ orders.
“Every dollar counts honestly, and then it helped her stay in business, and then they helped us host events over here,” he added.
The Eurotic car show partnership with Svenska was a success as people who showed up to grab their coffee and pastries also saw the cars on display. Svenska Café raised triple the amount that they usually made during a regular month.
He continued, “So COVID helped us a lot, honestly, expand the car culture, expand the word out there, expand the name of Eurotic on the map. And then this is who we are actually right now.”
El-Haddad discovered synergy with another car enthusiast who bought the shop.
Once Svenksa Café was purchased by Valant “Val” Jaddou, El-Haddad asked him if he could keep running Eurotic.
Svenska café’s name was changed to DayCap after being purchased by Jaddou. Jaddou bought the coffee shop a year ago and changed the whole concept, which now specializes in paninis and “cool drinks.”
“Me and Eli are always working together to do different events and different collaborations, which makes it really fun,” Jaddou said.
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Jaddou allowed El-Haddad to keep the Eurotic car shows going because it blended with DayCap’s intention of fostering community for its customers. Therefore, El-Haddad was able to conduct car shows a lot more often under Jaddou’s management than the previous owners of the establishment.
“We like to know our customers by name and make them feel comfortable when they come here. A barista is the first person you see in the morning sometimes. We want to uplift them and give them motivation to start their day with some really good coffee or a good sandwich or a good pastry,” Jaddou said.
Jaddou shared why car culture in Detroit is making an impact on the community.
“I think people have their crews and people have their cliques. And I think what better than bringing one type of concept like cars, which a lot of people are into, and bringing those people together in that type of way, whether it’s people meeting for the first time or people looking at somebody’s car and looking at it in-depth and seeing this is a really cool car,” he said.
He explained further, “What got you into it? How long have you had it? What year? What make? What model? I mean it’s really cool to see, man. It’s really cool.”
El-Haddad praised DayCap for showing great hospitality to them.
“They’ve always been welcoming us with open hands. They love what we do. We haven’t had any complaints about them or anybody in Birmingham,” El-Haddad said.
Former owner of Svenksa Café, Bakalis, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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