BEST OF EVERYTHING

Banquet Facilities • Garden Luncheons
Piano entertainment Wed. Thru Fri.

Dinner 5 to 10
Mon. Thru Sat.

North Italian Restaurant
Is Dream Come True

Restaurant

.

Reservations Suggested

1990 Hiller Rd.

(Old Orchard Troll)

682 1047

Off Pontiac Trail to Old Orchard Trail
To Hiller Road

DANNY RASKIN

-

Local Columnist

FOR HEALTHY
BABIES...

build a strong
foundation with
good prenatal care

THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTED BY THE PUBLISHER

OLIVER1O'S

Formerly of Long Lake Rd.

Specializing in
Seafood, Chicken, Steak, Veal and Gourmet
Pasta Dishes

Enjoy A Complete Dining Experience

Tuesday thru Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10
Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Sunday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
-

Full- Bar Service
Live Music Friday and Saturday

5586 Drake Road Just South of Walnut Lake Road
In The Drake-Summit Shopping Center • West Bloomfield
Reservations: 661-1920

56

FRIDAY, AUG. 7, 1987

T

HOSE WHO HAVE

been there give noth-
ing but accolades and
praises . . . Those who are
told about it feel a dining void
in their lives.
The dream of Rina and
Adriano 'Ibno had become a
reality in December of 1976
• . .. when Cafe Cortina open-
ed its doors on 10 Mile Road
just east of Orchard Lake
Road.
They had bought the pro-
perty in 1966 . . . with uncan-
ny foresight . . . and ten years
later had what Rina and
Adriano always wanted .. .
their own restaurant.
It means many hours of
long hard work, but the
gratification was in seeing so
many people enjoy their very
fine European-style Northern
Italian restaurant with a
touch of Southern Italy.
The only regret of Rina and
Adriano is that the late
Harold Dittrich, founder of
Dittrich Furs, never visited
their restaurant . . . he pass-
ed on a few months after Cafe
Cortina opened.
While others thought they
were "crazy" to open a
restaurant, Harold continual-
ly gave them the necessary
encouragement needed for
that added push in entering
a new venture by themselves
. . . His encouragement for
this young couple to open a
restaurant in Farmington
Hills will never be forgotten.
Many discouraged them for
reasons of cost, outrageous
even in 1976, the location and
size seating of only 96 . . . But
Rina and Adriano borrowed
100 percent and today have
. one of the finest Italian
restaurants in Michigan .. .
with its traditional classic
setting.
After three years, Cafe Cor-
tina increased to a point of
needing a small waiting room
. . . which since has developed
into a beautiful party area .. .
Reservations today are a
must at their restaurant.
Last year, because of the de-
mand for bigger parties, Rina
and Adriano had drawings of
another large banquet addi-
tion . . . However, they shelv-
ed all plans . . . feeling that
their small ristorante should
remain the personal and
quality establishment with
gracious intimacy.
Rina and Adriano are
celebrating 11 years at Cafe

Cortina. . .
both
restaurateurs of many years
. . . "If you're in the business,"
says Rina, "to be successful
you have to love it and be
dedicated."
Rina's mother and father,
Santina and Gaetano
Merolla, originated Rina's of
Detroit 34 years ago . . .
Originally, the family came
from Brooklyn and the Bronx
to introduce their pizza and
pastas to Detroit . . . They
established themselves on
Schaefer, where Rina's of
Detroit is still located . . . The
family was made up of mama
and papa, Rina's sister Anne
and brother-in-law Enzo Con-
te and Rina and Adriano .. .
They ran a very successful
restaurant which today is
owned by Anne and Enzo.
Adriano had come here
from the Northern Italy
resort city of Cortina in 1962
. . . His profession was as a
baker . . . and after meeting
Rina at a dance in Windsor,
where he worked, and marry-
ing her, Adriano immediate-
ly began working with the
family . . . But his and Rina's
dream was to eventually have
a restaurant of their own.
Rina's on Schaefer is nam-
ed after Mama Santina .. .
and was called Tina's until
someown complained of own-
ing the name . . . Their sign
man was called to change the
first letter.
Rina and Adriano are very
creative . . . and enjoy cooking
new dishes . . . For this
reason, many customers say,
"You do the ordering for us or
me," whichever it may be .. .
She also loves interior
decorating and he is a bug on
landscaping . . . Their keen
desire for excellent food and
love of people are key ingre-
dients for a successful ven-
ture . . . This charming couple
most certainly has . . . oozing
with highly gracious class.
Adriano likes to tell about
the time Seymour Weisman
was at Cafe Cortina . . . He
walked over and asked, "Are
you the Seymour Weisman of
Weisman's Excavating Co.?"
. . . Seymour said he was and
returned a question as to
whether Adriano was the
owner . . . "Yes," said Adriano,
"you helped me pay for this
place by signing my
paychecks."
Cafe Cortina is a free-
standing building where a
canopy with the letter "C" is
majestically but simply
displayed.
The exterior is built like an