Take a sneak peek at Peterboro Chinese restaurant, reopening in Cass Corridor

The Peterboro, a Chinese restaurant and cocktail bar in Detroit's Cass Corridor, quietly closed over the summer.

The restaurant was hotly anticipated when it debuted in 2016 under the co-ownership of managing partner Chuck Inchaustegui and the Detroit Optimist Society restaurant group (Sugar House, Wright & Co. and others).

With Asian and American influences on the menu — and opening chef Brion Wong at the helm — plus a focus on modern craft cocktails, the spot paid homage to the neighborhood's roots as a hub for Chinese-American businesses that flourished there in the early 20th century.

After months of being dark, Inchaustegui is readying to reopen the Peterboro in the next few weeks as the sole owner.

"I'm excited ... It's going to be good," he said at an invite-only soft service last week. "We cut down our food menu probably in half. I wanted to be able to do a few things and do them really well. I just picked the stuff that people liked the best."

One of those items people like best is, hands down, the cheeseburger spring roll. It has seasoned ground beef with melted cheese encased in a crispy wrapper and served with a Thousand Island-style dipping sauce and sliced pickles. It's on a list of small plates that also includes a vegetarian spring roll, sweet and spicy wok-fired chicken wings and house-made crab Rangoon. Gone are the salt and pepper calamari and the lettuce wraps.

Entrees, sticking in the $14-$20 range, include American Chinese flavors like General Tso, sesame and kung pao, each available with choice of chicken, tofu or cauliflower, plus a selection of fried rice and lo mein dishes.

The bar and restaurant look just about the same, save for a few colorful additions to the entrance to the back patio and a massive crimson dragon kite attached to the ceiling.

The cocktail menu, however, is completely new. Priced $11-$15 per drink, the flavors complement the food menu and include concoctions like the well-balanced Ghost, a smoky drink made with gin, St. Germain, cream of coconut, grapefruit and lemon. For their take on an old fashioned, the Gold Fashioned has toasted sesame rum and bourbon plus turmeric, mandarin and Ango soda.

So when will the Peterboro reopen? "A couple weeks," says Inchaustegui, adding he's got a mix of old and new team members and just hired some additional kitchen staff.

Until then, keep an eye on their social media — facebook.com/ThePeterboro and instagram.com/thepeterboro — for the official reopening. The Peterboro is at 420 Peterboro in Detroit.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens