KISS Opens Rock & Brews in Detroit, Plans New Projects After Touring Retirement

DETROIT - KISS is opening a new Rock & Brews restaurant this week in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, marking the 19th location since the chain's launch in 2010. The opening comes as the band continues to pursue a number of projects following its retirement from touring in 2023.

Bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons told Ultimate Classic Rock that fans can expect more from KISS in the coming years, including on-screen and on-stage appearances. "More is good," Simmons said. "We're working really hard, all of us, in making sure that the quality of everything will blow you away because over the years the fans have been expecting not the norm, but the extra norm."

Simmons compared the band's new phase to a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. "In many ways, (KISS) was the caterpillar that went into the cocoon and you think that's the end, but it's really the beginning. We are going to go where no band has gone before," he said.

Among the most anticipated projects is a KISS avatar show, teased during the final concert of the End of the Road World Tour at New York's Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2, 2023. Simmons said he could not share specifics but promised it would be announced within two years. "We're gonna blow your socks off in a way multiple times more exciting than the Sphere," he said, referencing the Las Vegas venue known for its immersive concert experience. Simmons said the KISS avatar show will be staged worldwide and will involve multi-sensory elements, including heat and scent effects, not just visual spectacle.

In addition to the avatar show, KISS has two film projects in development. A biopic directed by McG and co-produced by Mark Canton is in the scripting and casting phase. Simmons said the director is completing work on "Baywatch" before moving on to the KISS film. A documentary is complete, though no release date has been announced, and an animated series with Warner Bros. is also in progress.

Simmons' production company, Simmons Hamilton, co-founded with Gary Hamilton, will release "Deep Water," starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, on May 1. Another film, "Canyon," starring Bella Thorne and Mel Gibson, is in development.

Meanwhile, another KISS Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas is planned for November. Last year's event featured unmasked and uncostumed performances by Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. "That was a lot of fun," Simmons said. "We could just let our hair down - not worry about big projection, big private jets and 60 people on the crew, being a traveling city. You just show up and plug in, like going over to your aunt's house and putting on a concert in the garage."

Simmons said the upcoming Kruise will continue to build on its fan-focused programming. "The real thrill is and will always be the relationship we have with the fans. The KISS Army put us here in the first place. There's a big debt of gratitude, respect, admiration and love - as you know and as you've seen, and there always will be."

Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction

Before the Kruise, Simmons and Stanley will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 11 in New York City, where KISS formed in 1972. They will join a class that includes Kenny Loggins, Alanis Morissette, Taylor Swift, Walter Afanasieff, Terry Britten, Graham Lyle and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. John Fogerty will receive the Johnny Mercer Award.

"It's special," Simmons said. "When I first came to America at the age of eight and a half, the first music I heard was Chuck Berry. Even though I couldn't speak English, couldn't understand the words, the feeling, the sound and the beat affected me." Simmons said he and Stanley did not think of themselves as songwriters until working on the tribute album "Kiss My Ass" in 1994, when artists such as Garth Brooks and Lenny Kravitz participated.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame honor coincides with the 30th anniversary of "Kiss Unplugged," the band's MTV special. "When we were first offered the Unplugged thing by MTV there was a little reluctance," Simmons said. "We were pleasantly surprised; even the big, amped-up songs sounded great stripped down. That was about the songs, too."

Detroit Rock City Gets Its Rock & Brews

The new Rock & Brews location in Royal Oak is a 12,000-square-foot, three-story facility that pays homage to Detroit's connection with KISS, celebrated in the band's 1976 song "Detroit Rock City." Simmons said the band has been involved "from soup to nuts" in the project, from design to staff training. He is scheduled to visit the restaurant on April 9 and perform there with his solo band on Sept. 7.

"Before New York, before Los Angeles, Detroit and the entire area took KISS to its bosom," Simmons said. "Detroit's always been a wonderful place for us. I'm a big fan. Some of the finest people I've ever met have been in Detroit. So it's a source of pride for everybody on the Rock & Brews team to open up in Royal Oak. It's gonna really be something special."