There’s a new man in town, and he brought some money, some cooking experience and an idea for a new restaurant with him.
Ferdinand Deda, a Troy resident and owner of 453 S. Broadway ? the empty building between McDonald’s and TCF Bank ? says he envisions a family-style restaurant, serving up Italian, Greek and American food.
The village council granted Deda a class c liquor license package by a 6-1 vote at their April 12 meeting. The package was transferred from The Wagon Wheel at 102 S. Broadway, located in the historic downtown. It will allow Deda to sell packaged beer and comes with a dance permit. Councilmember Mike Toth was the sole dissenting vote.
Some on the council were wary of letting one of the village’s liquor licenses leave downtown and others were wary of allowing Deda a dance permit.
Zoning issues ‘can be very sensitive, sometimes, with entertainment,? said Police Chief Jerry Narsh.
But Deda says his restaurant won’t have dancing as long as the family restaurant idea gets on its feet, and he doesn’t plan to pull any permits for entertainment.
‘It’s going to be a family-style restaurant,? he said. ‘Probably later, if what I’m thinking about the family restaurant isn’t working, I’ll get the proper permits and have dancing or a sports bar. It all depends on how it’s going to go.?
When asked about starting up a restaurant ? and the associated financial burden ? in an economic recession, Deda said, ‘I’m not afraid for this area.?
‘It’s hard now, but nothing will go down further. The economy is going to come back. We’re going to try from the very beginning to have reasonable prices and very good, quality food. I believe so much in this area ? it’s going to be good,? he added
Deda, who already owns a restaurant in Troy, says getting into the business was something that excited him early on in his professional career. The Albanian-born man moved to Michigan 17 years ago and got his feet wet in the restaurant industry soon after.
Deda plans to open his new restaurant as soon as October, ‘if we rush a little bit,? he said. His original dream of a restaurant in Lake Orion included purchasing The Wagon Wheel, but Deda said he decided renovating it would be too much work.
‘You’d have to start from scratch,? he said.