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72
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990
737-5190
32839 Northwestern Hwy.
Tiffany Plaza
Bet. 14 Mile Rd. & Middlebelt Rd.
Farmington Hills
Thirty Years Of Experience
Make DeLuca A Tasty Tradition
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
B
ack in 1958, if you
were old enough to
bend a noodle or down
a pizza, you might remember
the little place on Woodward
and Glendale.
pizza
there's
Today,
everywhere, homemade pasta
galore, plentiful seafood,
steaks, chops, etc. . . . and
piano bar entertainment goes
on nightly seven days a week
from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
But it wasn't always this
way for Dennis and Gina
DeLuca . . . Their first
restaurant, Twelfth and Glen-
dale, the original DeLuca,
seated only 40 people and had
just six employees.
The original menu was
quite limited and there was
no liquor . . . staying open un-
til 4 a.m. for the "after bar"
crowd.
DeLuca relocated to
another locale in 1966 .. .
Woodward and Six Mile .. .
and was there five years .. .
This time, Dennis and Gina
had a staff of 22 and seated
90.
Then came March 12, 1973
. . . and the opening of today's
DeLuca, a far cry from the
ones of yesteryears . . . at the
corner of Woodward and 11 1/2
Mile in Royal Oak.
It's a very relaxing place .. .
informal and the type of
restaurant you can't help but
enjoy . . . With the exception
of tablecloth and napkin col-
ors and patterns, the decor at
DeLuca hasn't changed since
its opening . . . The foresight
when built was obviously one
of much intelligence in the
knowledge for dining in a
most comfortable atmosphere
DeLuca on Woodward and
11 1/2 Mile seats 100 . . . plus
another 50 in the lounge
sector.
The main dining room is
decorated with stucco panels
between wrought iron arches
with hanging wicker flower
baskets separating it from the
lounge area . . . The tables
are covered in a green print
fabric with red fabric napkins
. . . The green booths are com-
fortably padded . . . Seven
arches are covered with deco-
rative wrought iron grillwork
. . . and a few paintings are
intermingled to create a plea-
sant Mediterranean atmos-
phere.
The lounge is decorated
with the reverse side of the
seven arches plus dark
mahogany paneling and
black marble sills . . . 12
padded green stools and
multi-colored small lights are
around an overhang, sur-
rounded by small stainless
glass globe light fixtures .. .
A beautiful mural fills the
back of the bar in panels be-
tween Roman columns.
At all tables and booths in
the main dining room and
lounge are red wrought iron
lanterns or tall cylindrical
wrought iron candle holders
. . . Heavy wooden and
wrought iron ceiling fixtures
with glass globes are also in
both sections of DeLuca.
About the decor not being
changed since 1973, Dennis
says, "If it's not broken, don't
fix it. If it works, why change
it."
The lounge piano bar has
Lenny Randall (since May,
1973) playing Tuesdays thru
Saturdays . . . and Buddy
Clark, also a 17-year DeLuca
vet, Sunday nites . . . Mel
Thompson tickles the keys
Monday evenings when the
"joint cooks" with jam ses-
sions by Mel's professional
friends on the washboard,
bass, etc.
The present location of
DeLuca used to be a beauty
shop . . . Dennis knocked
down the building and built
his "dream" family
restaurant . . . But all wasn't
so rosy even then for Dennis
and Gina . . . It took two years
of preparation, weeding
through red tape and the
final acquisition of a liquor
license among the many
stopgaps which would tend to
discourage the ordinary
person.
After being open awhile,
Dennis bought the gas sta-
tion next door . . . He and a
friend mixed mortar together
and set bricks themselves in
building the wall that now
surrounds the very popular
DeLuca Restaurant.
Our waitress, Dale Morris,
was very attentive,
knowledgeable and efficient
. . . Many will remember her
from McGinnis' and Red
Cedars.
Dale brought me an ex-
cellent piece of veal cutlet
very lightly breaded and
sauteed in pure olive oil .. .
tender but firm . . . served
with a side of Dennis' own
sauce topping of all-natural
ingredients (black olives,
onions, garlic, tomatoes and
spices).
My companion had veal
parmigiana . . . Too often, the
veal in this dish is un-
distinguishable, totally over-
powered and camouflaged by
a heavy tomato sauce and
coating of cheese . . . Not so at
DeLuca . . . It was tender and
delicate with a fresh tomato
sauce enhanced by fresh
mushrooms and a flavorful
melting of cheese that did not
take away the delicate taste
of the veal itself.
It is virtually impossible to
leave DeLuca hungry . . . the
portions are so adequate .. .
Dinners come with one of
three homemade soups
(minestrone and onion are
standards, another changes
daily), a large wooden-type
bowl filled with chilled crisp
From pizza to veal,
Italian is the
specialty at
DeLuca.
iceberg lettuce, tomatoes,
beets, garbanzo beans and
croutons, side of spaghetti
and selection among four
types of potatoes.
Every dinner is also served
with a basket of homemade
soft garlic sticks that usual-
ly need refilling — they're so
good.
Like their customers, Den-
nis and Gina have faithful
employees . . . Mario D'An-
tonio, chef, 15 years; Bob
Bridgewater, 10 years; Mike
Pierick, day cook, 12 years;
Mary Chapman, 17 years;
Hazel Mureszki, night
waitress, 10 years; Jean Mazi,
night waitress, 10 years; An-
na Ciaramellano, evening
waitress, 12 years; Dorothy
Timmerman, evening
hostess, 12 years; Molly
Steinhilper, evening hostess,
four to five years; Linda
Daniels, day hostess, 10 years
. . . Ruby Booth, cook with the
DeLucas, recently retired
after 31 years.
Gina, many times the voice
at the other end of the phone
when you call, is very
gracious and oversees the
waitresses and busboys .. .
Dennis takes care of the other
responsibilities and
employees plus going into the
kitchen when needed and
helping prepare the fine
dishes served at DeLuca.
The menu is a well-rounded
Italian bill of fare . . . with
eight veal dishes, six chicken
favorites, 15 types of pizza, 14
seafaring goodies, 20
homemade pastas, six salads,
12 sandwiches and about 15
steaks, chops, prime rib, etc.
All are served seven days a