I LISTENING POST 1"..11mmilullmm.lim
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WHERE EAST MEETS WEST
cooiN4f,€$
LOBSTER FESTIVAL
7 DAYS A WEEK
11/2
LB. LIVE MAINE LOBSTER
COMPLE DINNER INCLUDES:
• SOUP OR PASTA
• SALAD
• POTATO OR VEGETABLE
$1595
Live Piano Entertainment Mon. Thru Sat.
Tableside Cooking at Dinners ... • Steak Diane
• Caesar Salad • Seafood Fettucini • Fettucini
• Veal • Dover Sole • Flaming Desserts
Catering For All Occasions
• Lunch Served Mon.-Fri. • Pastries Made On The Premises
935 W. 11 MILE, S.E. CORNER 11 & 1.75
Res: 399.5960
Chef: Peter Lieber
Your Hosts: Bruno Ferguson & Tim Kowaiec
ROAST TONGUE
DINNER
CHOICE OF SOUP OR SALAD
$565
DELI and RESTAURANT
SHIVA DINNERS & PARTY TRAYS ... Free Delivery
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner ... Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
352-4940
21754 W. 11 MILE AT LAHSER • HARVARD ROW Fax: 352-9393
FREE
DINNER
WITH PURCHASE OF DINNER OF EQUAL OR GREATER VALUE
I Excludes Holidays I
INo Carry 001
• Daily Specials Excluded
• Groups Over 10 Excluded
• Present Coupon When Ordering
• Coupon Valid For Entirb Table
• Main Dining Room Only
• 15% Gratuity Added To Original Bill
JN
Expires 8-29-91
PLEASE, NO EXCEPTIONS TO RULES OF U SE.
SOUTHFIELD
25080 SOUTHFIELD RD. (1 Block Northof 10 Mile)
557.8910
EARLY BIRD SPECIALS
4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Complete
Dinners
$7.95 to
$9.95
Le Metro
Applegate Square • Northwestern Hwy. • 353-2757
80
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1991
You Will Not Recognize
This Birmingham Landmark
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
T
hey should tear the
place down and make
a parking lot out of it"
is an old saying that has per-
tained to many restaurants
down through the years.
He didn't have to, but
that's exactly what Armand
DeCapite did eight years ago
. . . even though his Alban's
Bottle and Basket on Hunter
Boulevard near Maple in Bir-
mingham was a highly suc-
cessful operation.
Where once stood the
cafeteria with its deli-style
sandwiches and wine and li-
quor setup is today an
unbelievable sight . . .
recognizable only by the big
wagon wheel sign hanging
outside with Alban's blazon-
ed across.
Armand and the late Milt
Goldberg had purchased the
Birmingham deli from the
Alban family in 1961 . . . a
fascinating place opened by
Thomas and Leonilda Alban
which had started out
originally as a grocery and
kept growing and growing .. .
When Armand and Milt took
over, theirs was the only
restaurant around . . . The
Peabody's site nearby was a
grocery then.
People today remember
when as children their
parents used to take them to
Alban's for a ride in the coun-
try . . . Folks now living out-
of-town who used to frequent
Alban's many times go there
looking for the cafeteria and
are in shock at what they see.
Gone from the wall is the
blackboard menu . . . but still
there are those four famous
sandwiches Alban's was
noted for from 1961 . . . "The
Big Wheel," "The Carriage,"
"The Hub" and "The Subur-
ban" . . . also those box lun-
ches people used to stop for
and still do to take to football
games.
Quite a difference from
yesteryears . . . If customers
haven't been to Alban's in a
while, they'll also have trou-
ble recognizing the place .. .
That building with its en-
trance on Hunter was torn
down eight years ago after
Armand built his new
structure.
About the only thing Ar-
mand kept from the old
building was that huge
hogshead that formed the
companionway between the
food and cafeteria department
and the liquor and wine sec-
tion which today contains
over 7,000 bottles of wine .. .
Customers still walk through
this barrel, now about 100
years old, lined on each side
with fine wines, to get from
one part of the store to the
other.
There also used to be a
large wagon _wheel mounted
horizontally and converted in-
to a table seating seven per-
sons . . . The Alban's of today
is more to the modernistic
side with a full-service
restaurant intead of the
cafeteria.
However, Armand tried to
carry as much feeling as
possible of the old atmosphere
to the new with its knotty
pine wood and solid oak, cut
to measurements from blue-
print specifications, shipped
here via Oregon and put into
place . . . An upstairs loft din-
ing area with wrought iron
lamps and glass shades over
most of the tables is like a
quiet retreat . . . Meanwhile
downstairs, continuing its
brick interior, large light fix-
tures, huge overhead wine
labels hanging from the high-
raftered ceiling, and modern
enclosed fireplace, is a hustle
and bustle yet most comfor-
table and intimate
atmosphere.
The full-service Alban's
restaurant, with its booths
and tables for 179 seating is
a very far cry .. .-but much to
the better . . . from the cafe-
teria-style setup and limited
menu.
Building housing Alban's
restaurant, carry-out, cater-
ing and liquor-wine opera-
tion, was that large red barn
next door where Cranbrook
art students used to store
their equipment after spen-
ding all day outside drawing
and painting.
Still at Alban's Bottle and
Basket are Bernie Cole, deli
manager; and David Garth,
one of the dining room
managers . . . Both were with
the original Alban's five years
before coming with Armand
and Milt 30 years ago.
Sol Pitt, who used to own
Shep's Delicatessen with
Harry Shepherd on Griswold,
was with Armand at Alban's
22 years before retiring eight
years ago . . . He is responsi-
ble for starting those popular
box lunches for which Alban's
gained much repute.
When one recalls the small
kitchen of yesteryears, he or
she can appreciate the large
one now at Alban's, with its
gleaming stainless steel and
utter cleanliness throughout.
Who would have thought
you'd one day get burgundy
linen napkins at Alban's? .. .
And what wild imagination
could conceive that the 35 or
40 employees would grow to
over 135?
Alban's is sure not a deli-
cafeteria-type anymore . . . far
from it . . . and Armand can
take pride in being one of the
few restaurant owners still
wallowing in success . . . even
more so than previous . . . for
over 30 years.
He also still owns the Bot-
tle and Basket Shoppe on
Telegraph and Maple, opened
in 1960.
Armand was one of the first
persons in this area to put in
a wine bar at the restaurant
. . . Its 16 taps give out choice
wines by the glass to go along
with Alban's extensive sit-
There are many
changes for the
better at Alban's
Bottle and Basket.
down menu that also includes
items from the old place.
So next time you're driving
out Woodward way and come
to Hunter Boulevard near
Maple, look for that familiar
wagon wheel sign . . . then if
you've never noticed before,
see the side door canopy into
which one enters_ a triple-
treat-and-more adventure.
Armand has quite an opera-
tion . . . It's hard to conceive
or believe that this is the
same Alban's Bottle and
Basket of years back.
Realization is a see-for-
yourself experience . . . Too
bad I can't borrow a Yogi
Berra-ism and say, "It's the
same, but better" . . . For sure
it's not the same . . . but cer-
tainly better.
FOLKS WHO HAD fun at
the Bighouse will be in-
terested in this note . . .
Woodhull Lake Reunion is be-
ing planned if enough in-
terest is evoked by those who
owned or rented Woodhull
cottages between 1930 and
1950 . . . The reunion would
be held in spring or summer
of 1992 . . . Committee is
made up of Sally (Joseph)
Saginaw, Virginia (Wider)
Sharkey, Avery Shapero and
Shirley (Zack) Schram . . .
Call Sally at 681-7814; or
Shirley at 360-0448 . . . Reliv-
ing those great fun years at
Woodhull would be joyous for
so many . . . Lots of wonderful
memories.