I LISTENING POST Immi.°111=1.
I BEST OF EVERYTHING I
APRIL SPECIAL
ROASTED GLACIER SPRINGS
TROUT
With An Oriental Mayonnaise and
Vegetable Panache
$8.95
Served With:
Choice of Vegetable,
Cup of Soup of the Day,
Bread Basket,
Chocolate Mousse Torte
West Bloomfield
Oak Park
Bingham Farms
Orchard Lake Rd., south of 15
Greenfield north of 10
Telegraph Between 12 & 13
737-3890
967-3999
645-5288
Special Valid Through 4/30/91
DINE FREE
KIDS 12 AND UNDER
WITH OUR
MAGICIAN
At
2 Children With
Each Adult Entree
Wed., Thurs. &
Sun., 5.8 p.m.
Live entertainment & L)ancing To
NORMA JEAN BELL
AND THE ALL-STARS
FRI. & SAT. 9:45 p.m. SUN. 9 p.m.
Reservations Taken for Mother's Day, May 12
22061 Woodward, Between 8 & 9
398-194
MAGNIFICO!
"Ancliamo is another stunning
contribution to Detroit's restaurant
scene. The place works terrifically as
a restaurant. It has warmth, verve
and character!" — Mel Gourmet, Detroit Monthly
COMPLETE NEW MENU
NEW CHEF
Aldo Ottaviani
The legendary Aldo
O ttavianl (from the
origi-
nal Aldo's Restaurant)
...a truly Italian restaurant where
the food is prepared with heart
and soul! Classic flavor.
Wonderfully delicate. Superb
presentation. Modestly priced.
With 1-696, you are
only 20 minutes away
from Great Authentic
Italian Dining!
Come enjoy the relaxed atmos-
phere where good food and good
drink are the attraction!
Private Parties
Welcomed up to 40
7096 E. 14 Mile Road
Between Mound and Van Dyke
268-3200
70
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1991
ITALIA
A Birmingham Restaurant
Has Been 26-Year Family Affair
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
ongevity in the res-
taurant business is an
admirable experience
. . . especially when it reaches
26 years and can boast of be-
ing stronger than ever before.
This is the Lemon Peel on
N. Hunter (Woodward) in Bir-
mingham. It wasn't always
known as the Lemon Peel , . .
not in 1965 when John and
Fran Kales had a little Biffs
operation with just 24 stools,
tiny kitchen and small walk-
in refrigerator now used as a
beer and wine cooler.
Nine years went by, and in
1974, with John and Fran
pulling away from the Biff's
chain, the Lemon Peel name
was born.
In 1975, John and his
father:in-law, Leo Dimitrios,
who had been with his
daughter and son-in-law since
1967, even took over the
Carl's Car Wash next door
and ran it for a year.
Then came the big change
. . . and the start of a true
family affair . . . In 1976,
John started what was to be
a renovation of renovations
. . . No longer would there be
a 24-stool operation . . . No
more Carl's Car Wash . . . In
their stead was to stand a
Lemon Peel restaurant with
seating of about 96 in a
gracious but casual dining at-
mosphere . . . where the car
Wash used to be . . . plus an
intimate cocktail lounge with
48 seats where the 24-stool
Biff's hamburger dining
setup once enjoyed popularity.
John literally built the
restaurant himself . . .
Daughter Kathy, now 26, and
a journalism graduate from
Wayne State • University, can
recall sisters Ellie and Laurie
picking her up after school so
the three could help Mom and
Dad.
"The car wash equipment
back then wasn't like the new
equipment that exists today,"
says Kathy. "It might be that
I perceived things larger in
those days because I was on-
ly 10 years old, but it seemed
tearing down huge machines
was as if dad was clearing a
forest. I also remember lear-
ning to build walls and
wallpapering them. If one
were to ask me what has been
the most valuable experience
in my life, I would say, and
I'm sure my sisters would
agree, that it has been the
family business experience.
It's - remarkable how many
talents and know-how we
have acquired over 26 years at
Lemon Peel!'
Lemon Peel was three years
in the building, including
stucco walls and the cocktail
lounge's brick-by-brick floor
. . . A liquor license didn't
come until a year after they
opened in 1979.
Ellie and Laurie were
waitresses and Kathy helped
in other ways before joining
her sisters, mom and dad and
grandpa Leo at the restau-
rant.
Many people will remember
the former decor . . . framed
posters of Broadway shows, an
antique room sector with a
wall covered by a World War
stamp machine (3 cents first
class), early 1900s high shoes,
coal scoop, ice prongs, shoe
shine box, washboard, logg-
ing saw, etc.
We remember sitting in the
Theater Room as music from
Broadway shows softly played
in the background . . . The
dining and bar lounge areas
each had separate entrances
. . . until 1987 . . . This is
when a lobby sector was
created with one entrance for
access to either the lounge or
dining regions.
December of 1990 brought
another change in decor .. .
Gone are the show biz posters
and antiques . . . In their
stead are walls painted in
varied colors, new pictures in
the dining areas and a sports
theme in the lounge.
New menus have been
designed by daughter Kathy
in the shape of a lemon with
lemon coloring.
Both Kathy and Ellie are
highly polished hostesses to-
day . . . Laurie is an arts and
crafts senior at Wayne State
U., graduating to become a
teacher this fall . . . She
created the Lemon Peel's logo
. . . Ellie had graduated
Oakland Community College
in cooking, with top grades for
her culinary expertise . . . As
winner of a gold medal,
bronze, silver and the
prestigious best of show at a
cookery competition, she
made Fran and John very
proud parents.
The new sports lounge has
framed pictures of cars and of
course a couple of paintings of
lemons . . . In the wall is also
a story . . . John had spon-
sored a race car that was
eventually wrecked . A
customer gave John its front
end and he had it mounted on
the wall . . . The driver found
out about his car that once
was and came to the Lemon
Peel . . . to autograph its front
end.
John, Fran and their
daughters must feel strange
these days when they walk in
back . . . No more tiny kit-
chen . . . Now two large ones
with much room and four
stoves for ample food
preparation.
Celebrating 26 years in the
restaurant business is nice
. . . Continuing to maintain a
high standard of consumer
pleasantry with family to-
getherness is even nicer .. .
Lemon Peel has come a long
way in these 26 years . . . and
it shows.
EMPLOYERS take note
. . . Don't forget April 21-27
. . . that's Professional
Secretaries Week.
IS "WILD and crazy" the
way guys should go when try-
ing to attract the opposite
sex? . . . Ron Lowy, Southfield
The Kales' children
have literally
grown up in the
Lemon Peel.
interior designer, expects to
find out after his appearance
April 17 on "Kelly and Com-
pany" over at WXYZ-TV, Ch.
7 . . Ron put his best wit for-
ward in a cleverly-worded,
videotaped personal ad in
which he humorously describ-
ed "my kind of woman."
Ron's was one of five ads by
five different males, including
real estate broker Randy Tar-
now, that appeared this week
in the special "Mail Order
Men" singles segment of
"Kelly" created by Lori
Weiss, known as the "Queen
of the Singles Scene" around
Ch. 7 for her frequent "Kelly"
forays into Detroit's singles
world.
Female viewers will have
until May 1 to respond by
mail to the male of their
choice . . . "Kelly and Com-
pany" will send each couple
out on a date . . . then bring
all five couples on the May 13
show to see how things went.
Ron told viewers his kind of
woman will have "the in-
telligence of a General
Schwartzkopf minus the poor
foresight of a Saddam Hus-
sein," among other
qualifications.
Lori said she told the men
"to create something that not
only sells themselves, but
also attracts the kind of per-
son they want to meet" .. .