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32

October 19 2006

he first takeout order for a
pizza from Buddy's was in
1946 at a former "blind pig"
in Detroit. And a guy named Gus baked
it, not anyone named Buddy. In fact,
there never was anyone named "Buddy"
Incidentally, a "large" cost only $1.50
then.
Although pizzas have been around
since 16th century Italy, they weren't
too popular 60 years ago when August
"Gus" Guerra decided to put some
new life into the establishment he had
opened in 1936 at Six Mile Road and
Conant as Prohibition was ending. So,
he added Sicilian-style, deep-dish pizza
to the menu of the Italian restaurant
— and a Detroit area legend was born.
Pizza lovers are now devouring about
15,000 pizzas a week — at $12.50 or
more for a "large" — at six area Buddy's
eateries and three carry-out stores as
the organization celebrates its 60th
anniversary. The restaurants are located
in Farmington Hills, Livonia, Auburn
Hills, Dearborn, Warren and Detroit.
The carry-out stores are in Bloomfield
Township, Detroit and Royal Oak.
But with the proliferation of national
and local pizza companies, it's a "tough
competitive battle says current owner
Robert Jacobs of Birmingham. He and
his employees have turned the organi-
zation into a $20 million-a-year busi-
ness, according to industry sources.
Jacobs' parents, Billy and Shirlee
Jacobs, bought Buddy's in 1970 from
Jimmy Bonacorse and Jimmy Valenti,
who had purchased the restaurant from
Guerra. "My father was a real estate
developer and knew nothing about the
restaurant business, but my parents fell
in love with the old place when they ate
there — and they bought it',' Robert
Jacobs recalls. "At the beginning, my
mother worked long hours in the kitch-
en, but she gave that up and turned
things over to our great staff"
Billy was a rabid squash player and
well known as a stalwart with the
Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Shirlee, now 80, moved to Florida after
Billy died five years ago, and Robert,

57, now helms the operation. Robert

attended Southfield High School
and graduated from Wayne State
University's Law School, but joined the
business full time in 1974.
The two Jimmys had renamed the old
"blind pig" — where after-hours liquor
was served — to Buddy's because a
buddy is a good friend and they wanted
to convey to customers the idea the
restaurant was a friendly place. Patrons
have been filling the friendly locations
ever since.
The high-volume Buddy's on
Northwestern Highway in Farmington
Hills has become a landmark in the
Jewish community, usually packed
with business people for lunch during
the week and with families on Sunday
nights.
In fact, the television food chan-
nel rates Buddy's among the top five
pizza establishments in the nation, and
Buddy's consistently earns high rank-
ings in the Detroit area pizza market.
"But we have to earn our stripes every
day; we take nothing for granted': said
Jacobs.
"Our biggest challenge is keeping up
with the national and local chains in
the ever-evolving pizza business; you
can order a pizza almost anywhere now.
We just do a better overall job."
Unlike the secret "herbs and spices"
in the KFC chicken recipe, and the
closely guarded formula for Coca
Cola, there's really no secret recipe for
Buddy's pizza ingredients. "It's mainly
the old-fashioned, Sicilian-style pizza,"
Jacobs explained. "Through the years,
several of our workers left our employ-
ment for various reasons, knowing the
content of the pizza recipe. But I sure
haven't seen any of them opening a
store and imitating Buddy's pizza."
The chain has more than 500
employees, 300 of them full-time, and
at least 30 have been with the firm 20
years or more. "That's our secret 'recipe'
for success — good people," Jacobs
said. "They have pride in the company
and it reflects in their quality work and
a high-quality pizza. My parents always
treated everyone very nicely and it
showed in the employees' longevity"
Jacobs also attributes much of

