Uncle Peter’s restaurant brings flavors of northern Michigan to Independence Township with its signature beef pasties.
“It’s a meal in itself, meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, and rutabaga, all wrapped in a pie shell,” said Pete Caruso , owner. “It’s just like what you can get in the Upper Peninsula.”
Customers enjoy the $4.99 baked pastries in gravy, ketchup, or plain, he said.
“There aren’t many places around here where you can get it,” he said.
Uncle Peter’s offers several dishes out of the norm, which is how Caruso likes it.
“We try to be something different,” he said.
They offer Smoke House jerky, with elk, venison, turkey, and other wild game, goulash, meatballs, bean soup, mac and cheese with ham, and sandwiches filled with a half pound of baked ham for $4.99.
“That’s a big sandwich,” he said.
They also offer desserts such as Xtreme Chocolatechip Oatmeal Cookies and Coffee Bean Cookies.
Caruso, a real estate developer from Royal Oak, opened a deli in the 6215 Sashabaw Road building in 1985, and ran it for about a year and a half before selling it. He decided to buy it back this past summer.
“Building a business doesn’t happen overnight,” he said. “We have about 60-70 percent repeat business, spreading by word of mouth.”
He named the restaurant after himself.
“I have a lot of nephews and nieces,” he said. “They say, ‘Uncle Peter this, Uncle Peter that.’ It makes people feel at home.”
For more information, call 248-804-5039.