LISTENING POST I
Fine Catering
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I BEST OF EVERYTHING I
A Noted Royal Oak Spot
Has Risen Higher Than Smoke
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
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Jane's
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1992
.
ou've heard the ex-
pression about some-
one having a suc-
cessful fire . . . or persons ask-
ing if it was one.
Well, it proved most pro-
fitable for Miles Mitich and
his Chick-N Ribs in Royal
Oak . . . but in another sort of
way.
Customers who couldn't go
there anymore began realiz-
ing what they were missing
. . . Forced to have the
broasted chicken, ribs and
shrimp elsewhere showed
them the difference.
Many had been regulars at
Chick-N Ribs since it opened
in 1985 after being rebuilt
from an old Royal Oak gas
station on Woodward north of
10 Mile Road next to the
Detroit Zoo.
Everything seemed to be
going along smoothly until
July 4 of last year when a
cleaning company working
during the holiday closing
allegedly forgot to put back
the styrofoam and plastic
cups while cleaning the ceil-
ing and left them in the kit-
chen . . . Chances are that
since the pilot lights are left
on all night, heat combustion
supposedly occurred and fire
broke out in the middle of the
night after they had gone.
When Miles came there the
next morning he saw a char-
red Chick-N Ribs kitchen and
smoked dining rooms . . . Not
the damage that an all-out
fire would have made, but
enough to close the doors for
what Miles thought would on-
ly be a couple of months.
All the kitchen equipment
except his noted rotisserie
bar-b-que machine was shot
and everything except that
had to be replaced.
Miles kept busy working
with the repair folks daily to
make sure things were fixed
as he wanted . . . and also
took care of his two donut
shops . . . Royal Donuts on
Woodward north of 13 in
Royal Oak and Donut Island
on Rochester Road north of 14
in Clawson.
Customers in the mean-
while were trying other
places but unhappy . . . They
had been treated to what
many considered the best and
just couldn't get used to se-
cond or third place.
Finally, six months later, on
Dec. 12, 1991, Chick-N Ribs
opened its doors again .. .
People came from everywhere
as the word spread.
y
After all, this was one of the
few spots around so health
conscious that if you ask for
skin to be removed from
chicken it will be done . . . An
asset like this has made
many friends.
And a student of the old
school, Miles still went for the
"old-fashioned" way of food
preparation . . . on a turning
rotisserie.
Smoke damage in the din-
ing room meant everything
being changed except the
tables, booths and chairs ..
new carpeting, new wall-
papering, etc.
Of the 25 employees at
Chick-N Ribs, all but one
have returned . . . Some tried
other places but discovered it
wasn't like working for Miles
Mitich . . . Others just took
vacations hoping to return to
their coveted jobs.
One of the waitresses, very
efficient and highly per-
sonable Beverly Van Wag-
goner, is known by many from
her days at the Bonfire Bar-
B-Q on Eight Mile . . . Bever-
ly's grandmother, Leah Balk,
was the cook who opened the
Nosherie for Earl Mostyne
and Ron Forman at Lincoln
Center, 10 Mile and Green-
field . . . and continued work-
ing for Ron at his Bread
Basket Deli on the same site.
Miles is noted for having a
clean restaurant so you can
imagine the look on his face
when he saw the dining room
smoke damage.
But all that is behind him
now . . . and Miles can only
think of the sometimes when
he would hear of it happening
to others but never thought it
could happen to him.
On Friday and Saturday
evenings, wife Olga is at the
restaurant as his hostess .. .
The past three years, hers and
Miles' lives have been cen-
tered around their young
daughter, Miki, whom Olga
spends her time with during
the week and Miles can't wait
to see everyday.
Where he finds time to see
Miki is another question .. .
He is at Chick-N Ribs seven
days a week either cooking or
out front greeting people .. .
Miles is very high on
customer attention.
Chick-N Ribs seats about
100 at booths and tables and
is also big on carry-out .. .
His perfected way of
broasting chicken without
grease, but moist inside, is a
secret he cherishes . . . This is
one of the reasons why the
large parking lot next to his
restaurant always has a lot of
cars.
Being off the 1-696 ex-
pressway has been another
boon for Miles, but like the
saying goes, if you've got it,
people will find you.
Chick-N Ribs has
weathered the storm of a fire
that closed it for six months
. . . and thankfully has not
changed . . . Usually when a
restaurant has a fire, it
remodels, changes ways and
customers think they're in a
new place . . . Not so with
Chick-N Ribs . . . Miles saw to
that . . . You've got to give
this man a lot of credit . . . He
made sure there would be lit-
tle change . . . People like
Chick-N Ribs as it was .. .
and still is.
GET WELL WISHES .. .
to sister Belle Weingarden .. .
at Sinai .Hospital.
WHEN HE opens again .. .
this time on 10 Mile west of
Northwestern, Dimitri Syros
will have a full-service, seven-
day operation that'll include
breakfast, lunch and dinner
. . . He never had breakfast at
It took six months
to rebuild Chick-N
Ribs.
the former Dimitris of
Southfield.
It's slated to open in March
and will be called Dimitri's
Family Diner . . . with 175
seating plus an outdoor patio
for 50 at the previous Denny's
locale.
A COUPLE OF years
back, Lou Kay retired after
over 40 years in business for
himself . . . His forte then was
pop bottle collecting and sor-
ting . . . But the perks and
pleasures of passing the time
bored Lou . . . and to keep
young he has sort of recycled
himself . . . With wife and pal
Gladys, Lou formed the Kay
Group, a multi-level firm
marketing water and air
purification systems for home,
vehicle and business (he's tak-
ing calls from the health and
environment conscious crowd
at 855-9892) . . . Lou was one
of the first Jewish News Mitz-
vah Heroes . . . a Holocaust
survivor who built his own
monument at Chesed Shel
Emes to the family he lost in
that horror.
SEVENTY-FIVE MADE
up the special number of close
friends and relatives who
helped Izzy Malin celebrate
his 75th birthday with a
reception at the home of Iz
and Fran's daughter and son-
in-law, Elaine and Mark
Schonberger.