If you have lived in Royal Oak long enough to remember when HopCat closed on Fifth Avenue, you probably have a routine for Dream Cruise weekend. Park somewhere off Main, walk the same two blocks, grab a burger, watch the cars roll by on Woodward. This year's weekend brought together two things that have nothing to do with classic cars: a restaurant that did not exist last August, and a stretch of pavement the city has been quietly rebuilding in downtown.
Saturday, August 15 was the 31st Woodward Dream Cruise, scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. along the full 16-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue between Ferndale and Pontiac. Satellite events were scheduled to start the night before, on Friday, August 14, and Royal Oak is one of nine communities along the route with its own programming. That much has not changed in years. What had changed was the corner where a lot of that Friday and Saturday foot traffic was expected to end up.
The basics have not moved, and that is the point
The cruise itself still traces back to a modest idea. It began in 1995 as a charity fundraiser for a children's soccer field in Ferndale and drew an estimated 250,000 people in its first year. Three decades later, organizers count more than a million spectators and upward of 40,000 muscle cars, hot rods, and specialty vehicles moving along the same corridor, according to Woodward Dream Cruise event coverage. That jump, from a quarter million to over a million, says less about the cars than about how thoroughly this event reshaped a Saturday in nine different downtowns.
Royal Oak's version of the weekend centered on the Car Show in the Park at Memorial Park, scheduled for Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the city's official events calendar. The free SMART shuttle was scheduled to run the entire Woodward corridor from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, with pickup at any red SMART or FAST stop, offering an alternative to driving and parking downtown. Municipal lots within walking distance of Woodward were an option for drivers.
None of that was new information if you had done this before. Here is what was different.
Fifth Avenue is not the same street it was last summer
For years, the block of West Fifth Street between South Center and South Washington has been closed to cars, a leftover from pandemic-era street patios that the city eventually decided to keep. That closure is now becoming permanent. The Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority is converting the corridor into a pedestrian plaza with a grassy gathering area, added lighting, greenery, and seating, funded in part by a $311,751.61 Main Street Oakland County placemaking grant, according to the city's own project page. Early budget estimates from the design phase put the total project cost near $1.5 million.
The plaza remained unfinished as of publication. The city's current capital projects list shows West Fifth Street from South Lafayette to Center as active construction, combining a water main replacement with the plaza build, per the Engineering Division's current projects page. The patio corridor described above runs between South Center and South Washington; the two are separate stretches of West Fifth Street.
The other major change on Fifth Avenue was a new restaurant opening.
The new anchor on Fifth Avenue is not a HopCat replacement, it is something bigger
Rock & Brews opened March 2, 2026, at 208 West Fifth Avenue, in the three-story building that used to house HopCat. It is the first Michigan location for the chain co-founded by KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and it is now open, with dining on the ground floor, a live music space on the second floor, and a rooftop lounge for warmer months, according to Detroit News coverage of the opening.
The local angle is what makes this more than a franchise arrival. The Royal Oak location is run by Tony and Danny Yezbick, who already own Fifth Avenue, the bar directly across the street, along with 526 Main Piano Bar. They partnered with Drew Lane, the former WRIF co-host of "The Drew and Mike Show" for two decades, who worked with the Rock & Brews design team to fill the space with Detroit music history, including WRIF memorabilia, Motown-era posters, and garage rock flyers from the city's past. Tony Yezbick has described the concept as a full restaurant with a rock and roll theme first, not a bar with food as an afterthought.
So the newest, buzziest food option for that Dream Cruise weekend was on Fifth Avenue, while active construction was listed on a separate stretch. If you planned to walk down for a burger and stay for live music on the second floor, Rock & Brews was one of downtown's most talked-about openings.
The old standbys have not gone anywhere
If Fifth Avenue feels unsettled right now, the rest of downtown's Dream Cruise routine has not changed much. Redcoat Tavern, a longtime Woodward Avenue fixture known for its burgers and pub menu, is still doing what it has always done during cruise weekend. Comet Burger's original downtown Royal Oak location has stayed open even as its St. Clair Shores drive-thru closed earlier this year, and it remains busy on cruise weekends the way it has for decades.
There is also a newer, quieter addition worth knowing about if you are looking for something outside the usual burger rotation. GreenSpace & Go, the fast-casual offshoot of Ferndale's plant-based restaurant and bar, has recently opened a Royal Oak location, giving cruise weekend crowds a lighter option a few blocks from the noise.
Put together, downtown Royal Oak during Dream Cruise weekend had two layers: the expected crowds, shuttle, and parking crunch, and a slower, more permanent change that many residents may not have fully clocked: a stretch of Fifth Avenue that has been informally pedestrian-only since 2020 is becoming a pedestrian plaza, while active construction is listed on a separate stretch and a new restaurant has opened on Fifth Avenue.
The weekend schedule at a glance
A few practical notes for anyone who headed downtown Friday or Saturday:
- The Car Show in the Park at Memorial Park was scheduled for Friday noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- The free SMART shuttle was scheduled to cover the full Woodward route Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., boarding at any red stop.
- Municipal lots near downtown offered parking within walking distance of Woodward.
- Fifth Avenue between Center and Lafayette was listed as active construction on the city's current project list; visitors would have needed to allow extra walking time in that area.
- Rock & Brews at 208 West Fifth is open and serving on all three floors, including the rooftop, weather permitting.
None of this changes what Dream Cruise weekend has always been about for people who live here: an excuse to be outside, see something loud and shiny roll down Woodward, and eat something good afterward. It just meant the map in your head from last August needed a small update for this year's weekend.
If you are new to Royal Oak, or thinking about what else has changed around town lately, Kelley Merritt keeps a close eye on what is opening, closing, and being rebuilt across Metro Detroit's downtowns. Let's Connect if you would like a rundown of what else is shifting in the neighborhoods you care about.
