265 S. Old Woodward 248.642.2555 Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30 6:00 - Closed Sunday Robert Jacobs and his family have owned Buddy's since 1970. Buddy's marketing success to TV and radio advertising, mainly drive-time commercials on radio. Marx Layne & Co., a Farmington Hills marketing and public relations firm, handles special promotions and projects. Marx Layne helped develop a Wall of Fame in the lobby of the Farmington Hills restau- rant, showing pictures of local celebri- ties who support Buddy's pizza, with sales aiding their charities. One Wall of Famer is veteran Jewish News columnist Danny Raskin. Buddy's is involved in many sports promotions, putting discount offers on ticket stubs for Detroit Lions and University of Michigan games, and making donations to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen throughout the year. "Robert Jacobs is an aggressive market- er and a stickler for quality': said Marx Layne partner Frederick Marx. "He has helped make Buddy's part of the very fabric of the Detroit area business corn- munity." Jacobs relies heavily on Wesley Bikula, vice president of operations, and Bob Sulek, general manager, who started as busboys at Buddy's, to handle the hiring and run the overall day-to- day operations. "They did a great job while I was out for three months with a rare ailment that I picked up on a trip to Africa': said Jacobs. "They kept our employees and customers happy, and we didn't miss a beat around here In recent years, Buddy's has kept up with the national diet fads of custom- ers, providing flour-free crusts, lactose- free cheese, whole-wheat crusts, even crust-less pizzas, and reductions in salt, sugar and fat. "But these fads usually diminish and pizza lovers often go back to the old-fashioned pizzas': Jacobs pointed out. That's not the case with Buddy's Wall of Famer Florine Mark of Franklin, president and CEO of Weight Watchers. "My Florine Mark Pizza has thin crust, low-calorie cheese and it's loaded with vegetables," she said. "That allows me to eat pizza again. I also love the salads there. Buddy's is a fun place to go and take the family." A portion of the funds from Florine Mark Pizza sales is given to charity to fight ALS. In contrast, long-time Buddy's cus- tomer Maggi Glogower of Farmington Hills likes extra cheese on her pizzas, eating at Buddy's once or twice a week. "I only eat pizza there, but I notice the other customers enjoying a variety of foods': she said. "That shows we always have some- thing for everyone': said Jacobs. "In the summer, many people like our gazpacho; in the winter it's the mine- strone, which was perfected by LaVerne Hatchett, who's been with us a long time. "Besides pizza, our most popular menu items are our salads, spare ribs and pita tuna sandwiches. Our sales have been up consistently all year!" Jacobs bemoans the loss of many historic restaurants and food icons in the Detroit area, like Joe Muer's, Sanders' and Vernor's, but "we're still here and hope to keep going at least another 60 years." 11 THE BEST KNIGHTS OUT IN DETROIT! BEST MUSICAL 2005 TONY AWARD' A new musicalv 4'ripped off from the motion picture MONTY PYT.I IONtaglid. Grail SPAM is a registered trademark of Hormel Foods, LLC, used with permission here. Tickets available at Fisher Theatre box office at all ticketmaster outlets incl. Macy's ticketmaster.com • charge-by-phone 248-645-6666 • Info 313-87z-woo BroadvvayInDetroit.com • Groups (zo or more) call weekdays 313 871 1132 Special Holiday Wednesday Matinees Dec. 20, 27 & Jan. 3 at it i r LaSalle Bank - - October 19 • 2006 33