Diners respond in droves to Downriver restaurant: Here's why

Yahoo

18-03-2025

Sometimes it does take a village.
At least that's what happened at one Downriver family-owned restaurant that got a recent big boost in business from diners.
About a week ago, Debby Celia of Gregorio's Italian restaurant in Wyandotte took to Facebook to drum up business.
But Celia wasn't describing menu specials or posting a menu; she described the state of the restaurant's business.
Celia, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Gregorio, who goes by Greg, said her post was meant to be a little reminder that 'we are here … don't forget about us.'
Business had been slow, and they were trying to keep it going, but it hadn't been easy.
Part of Celia's post read:
'Two nights in a row we've had 6 tables total of 14 guests, week days are extremely slow while weekends are some what normal. Two good nights can not support a business and especially our employees and their families.'
Catching up on bills to pay also was difficult.
The restaurant survived COVID-19 but 'COVID changed everything,' Celia told the Free Press, and since then, "business went down.'
Celia said she was putting some bills on the back burner to pay others.
'I was at my lowest point of not being able to continue like this,' Celia said. 'So, I told my husband I wrote a little post and asked him 'Should I put this out there?''
His response was 'maybe to wait and see what happens.'
'I said we can't wait because it's not happening,' Celia said.
But it happened. Did it ever happen.
The response has been phenomenal.
Gregorio's phones began to ring constantly, Celia said, with people wanting to make reservations. While they don't take reservations, you can call ahead and get your name on a list which puts you ahead of walk-ins.
People just showed up – lots of people. There's been all kinds of media attention.
That single post went viral and got diners' appetites buzzing to open their wallets and support the eatery. The post has been shared thousands of times and has more than a thousand comments.
Through the post, Celia's message asked to support their 'small family business.'
'We are not asking for your pitty (sic), only to consider supporting our small family business the next time you decide to enjoy a night out or a carry out dinner,' Celia wrote.
She also gave a shoutout to customers who have dined and supported Gregorio's over its past 21 years.
That five-sentence, from the heart post ended with a 'Thank you!!!' plus the restaurant's hours and phone number.
It brought diners – regulars and newcomers – out in droves to dine in or carry out. Over several days, Celia said there were lines out the door.
Kathy Talley of Taylor shared Gregorio's post. Talley and her husband Mike are regulars at Gregorio's. On a recent Wednesday, the couple met up with friends Beth and Rob Watson of Wyandotte for dinner.
'I love small, quaintness of it,' Kathy Talley said. 'The food is authentic and very good. It's a small family business and they fed people at the hospital (during the pandemic.)
Friends for more than 30 years, a group of more than a dozen who call themselves the 'Booze Bagz' decided on Gregorio's for their monthly dinner meet-up after seeing the post.
The group said they are 'happy to support' a local business and that their 'limoncello martinis are to die for.' They also added that the service was "extraordinary" and that they "will be back."
The Celias opened Gregorio's 21 years ago in downtown Wyandotte with plans for a small, mom-and-pop eatery. Before that, the couple managed Greg's family's pizza shop on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland for two decades before moving back to Michigan. Greg immigrated with his parents to Detroit from Sicily in 1966.
'It used to be a deli before we bought it and we updated a lot,' she said. 'We knew we wanted to do Italian dishes using his mom's recipes for sauce, cannoli, etc.'
In size, it is a small place on Biddle Avenue, Wyandotte's main artery that runs through downtown – with a Kelly-green awning – and at the corner of Walnut Street, directly across from Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. Inside Gregorio's has 12 tables with seating for 42. Out in front, weather permitting, its patio can seat 12 among three tables.
While its dining area might not be huge, Gregorio's makes up for it in quaintness, service, and its Sicilian dishes. One thing to notice is the buzz of the model train chugging along near the ceiling and around the perimeter of the restaurant that Greg built reminiscent of his childhood in Sicily, living above the train station where his father worked.
'When he was a boy in Sicily, they lived above the train station. He liked to look over the railing and watch the train. He's always just been fascinated with trains and has collected them over the years. He built the track, and everybody loves it,' his wife said.
Celia describes the menu as having many Sicilian-style dishes, scratch-made sauces and dishes, such as its Fettuccini Alfredo, are made-to-order. While not made in house, Celia said their pastas are locally sourced from Canton's Mama Mucci's Pasta.
In the small kitchen, it's Greg doing nearly all the cooking with help from the couple's three daughters and other family members using two burners, a fryer, the stove, and a grill top.
Many of the dishes Greg prepares are recipes from his mother: the tomato sauce, their homemade cannoli and its cream filling, eggplant Parmesan, and lasagnas.
'All the sauces are made fresh,' Celia said. 'The only thing we hold on a steam table are our tomato sauce and our soups.
Popular items, Celia said, are its steak Gregorio, butternut squash ravioli, Marsala, and the Sicilian tomato sauce.
'It's a Sicilian sauce, and it's my mother-in-law's. It's a nice blend of different types of tomatoes,' Celia said.
On the menu are dishes you'd expect: Eggplant Parmigiana, primavera, chicken, veal, or perch piccata. There's a variety of pasta dishes, chicken and steak entrees, and seafood dishes, including Shrimp Fra di Avolo, Shrimp scampi, salmon, and perch.
All Gregorio's meals come with a garden salad, vegetables, and a side dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and bread with herbed dipping oil. Choosing the house with Italian dressing its bits of gorgonzola is a good bet.
On a recent evening with 7:30 p.m. call ahead, the restaurant was busy. We waited about 10 minutes for a table. The service was attentive and friendly. After bringing our drinks, the server brought a basket of fresh, sliced ciabatta bread served with a plate of mild-flavored olive oil sprinkled with garlic and herbs for dipping. It's been a while since I've seen this offered at a restaurant. As an appetizer, we tried the meatballs. The all-beef meatballs (2) are good size and served with a good amount of the restaurant's tomato sauce over them.
We tried the flounder filets special stuffed with crab imperial and served in a pool of brightly flavored white wine lemon butter sauce. The filets were tender and the imperial stuffing a nice complement.
Gregorio's chicken Marsala was another hit with a generous portion of chicken breast that was nicely seasoned and pan sauteed served with mushrooms in a Marsala sauce.
The side dish serving of spaghetti is generous and the sauce is sweet with a deep tomato flavor, is flavorful, and seasoned well.
Since the post, the restaurant has had record nights and has never seen this much business.
'This was so unexpected, and we are extremely blessed,' Celia said.
Guests, Celia said, have told them that the restaurant is a staple in the town, and they can't leave.
'My goodness, the community's support is just mind-blowing.' It was just … very heartwarming to feel so loved by so many people that we know and people that we just met.'
Gregorio's Italian Restaurant, 2536 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte is open 4-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The restaurant doesn't take reservations, but you can phone ahead and be added to a list. 734-283-3354.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: [e-mail]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Diners respond to post by Gregorio's Italian restaurant in Wyandotte