Foodie Focus: Bell Peppers are the Hero at the Detroit Bell Pepper Company
Jake Newby
| 5 min read
The seeds for the Detroit Pepper Company were planted years before entrepreneur Marlin Hughes brought his restaurant concept to East English Village.
Hughes, a longtime postal service employee, was in the process of changing careers in 2016just as a milestone birthday neared for his wife. Close to 100 family members and friends would be in attendance.
“I asked her what she wanted for dinner, I was preparing dinner for the family, and she said, ‘surprise me.’ So, I surprised her with stuffed peppers,” Hughes recalled. “It’s easy to transport. And it’s something different. It’s something that’s old school, but I remixed it a little bit.”
Hughes pretty much knew that day that he had officially swapped out his mail bag for an apron. Fast forward to 2024 and the fast casual Detroit Pepper Company is thriving, having just celebrated its five-year anniversary. It’s a healthy alternative for Detroiters that was built on the back of the unlikeliest food hero.
“A lot of people do stuffed peppers one way, they take the top off. But I do mine differently,” Hughes explained. “I open-face them and give you more bang for your buck. It’s not just a stuffed pepper, it’s presented in a way that brings joy. Even for me, when I’m cooking and all those smells and aromas come out, it gives me a sense of nostalgia. Like Grandma’s kitchen. It’s all made from love.”
Whether you eat meat or steer clear, Detroit Pepper Company has the right stuff
A lot of restaurants that look out for their vegan and vegetarian customers do so by offering accommodations to certain dishes. You’ll see menus that give you the option to “make it vegan” by swapping out milk cheese, for instance, with vegan cheese.
The Detroit Pepper Company – which invites its customers to “come get stuffed” – operates in reverse. Every stuffed pepper option is inherently meat-free. Guests have the option of adding cheese and meat to any of the signature stuffed pepper or entrée options.
“Everything starts off vegan and it’s the reverse,” said Hughes, Detroit Pepper Company’s owner and chef. “Most restaurants are meat-forward. And they have to make provisions for you. Here, everything on the menu is vegan and if you want to make it traditional and add meat or cheese, you can do that.”
The same house-made tomato sauce recipe Hughes whipped up to wow guests at his wife’s birthday party years ago is wowing customers daily at the Detroit Pepper Company. Its top three dishes are the Detroit Stuffed Pepper, Vegan Stuffed Pepper and Detroit BBQ Stuffed Poblano, all priced between $11 and $15.50.
Hughes’ loads his carefully sourced and selected bell peppers first with that secret tomato sauce recipe. After that comes a variety of vegetables. Some include fresh stir fry mushrooms and veggies, while others are filled brown rice, black beans, quinoa, zucchini, yellow squash and butternut squash. If you’re craving a meat option, Hughes has fresh, lean beef, turkey and chicken on hand. If you want to keep it hearty minus the meat, you can add jackfruit to any pepper.
“The meat options are very clean,” Hughes added. “I use halal beef and antibiotic-and-steroid-free chicken and turkey.”
The restaurant also does a handcrafted vegan or vegetarian Detroit Pepper Bean Burger, a Detroit Stir Fry hoagie, appetizers like Detroit Jalapeño Poppers, and a host of salads and grain bowls, sides and fresh fruit smoothies.
Bell peppers are the star of Hughes’ show because he believes they bring a certain homestyle element to the fast casual experience.
“They’re a great vessel, an edible vessel,” he said. “It’s not like a taco or something when you bite into it and it falls apart. You actually have to take your time. It makes you want to sit down at a table when you eat this, with a knife and fork. I make sure to put it in the best container money can buy, it’s a biodegradable container. But my home should go home with you so you can sit down, put out your fine China and nice linen and enjoy it.”
The Detroit Pepper Company’s health-first concept mirrors its owner’s values
The fact that everyone adored Hughes’ stuffed bell pepper recipe at that 2016 birthday party reinforced the restaurant owner’s belief that this hearty entrée could carry a restaurant as a foundational dish. But that was just one of a series of events that motivated Hughes to open his own restaurant.
Hughes has a son with autism, who is non-verbal. Part of what fueled his career change was his desire for a more career job that would allow him to care for his son’s needs, which could be unpredictable. Hughes also lost his father to lung cancer in 2008, a tragic event that eventually changed Hughes for the better.
“As part of my grieving process, I went from not being able to look in the mirror to catching up to the man I am today,” Hughes said. “I used to weigh 270 pounds, I smoked cigarettes, I drank alcohol. And I’d eat anything.”
Hughes made a commitment to his health in 2009. He laced up his sneakers and started running. First, he’d run from stop sign to stop sign. Each day he’d run a little more, and a little more.
“I was 36 then,” Hughes said. “By the time I turned 40, I ran a 26.2-mile marathon. And all this happened around the same time that my wife had this party. So, my life started happening when my father passed. It was a wake-up call. He woke me up to eventually stand in this space, in this restaurant. To be able to help people.”
The Detroit Pepper Company on 17180 E. Warren Avenue is open four days a week, between Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.
The Foodie Focus series spotlights Michigan restaurants dedicated to serving fresh, quality food. From sourcing chemical-free ingredients to emphasizing sustainability, these are the backstories of clean-eating options throughout the state. More from the Foodie Focus series:
- First Bite Endears Itself to Ann Arbor with Vegan, Organic and Gluten-Free Breakfast and Lunch Options
- Summertown Fresh Bar Fills a Fast and Healthy Restaurant Void in Corktown
- Aster Farm to Table Restaurant in Midland Focuses on Seasonality, Sustainability and Community
Photo credit: Jake Newby/BCBSM
