Originally Posted by
SFDS
Hamtragedy did a good job summarizing Lopez's restaurant travels. To back up a little that site was Arturo's in the 30s on. It was an Italian restaurant and Arturo may have had a family connection to Mario's and Lelli's. For those of you who frequented US may recall a giant photo of Arturo's when they hosted the Italian Restaurant Owners banquet a classic with everyone in formal attire. In the 60s it became "Mad Anthony's", a nod to Wayne State and the General it's named after. That big green and white sign was also in the entryway.Then in the early 70s Tom Brandel [[Tom's Oyster Bar) bought it and added the woodwork and look, it was a nod to Union Street in San Fran and all the "Fern Bars" of the era. Tom like all his establishments employed musicians there. Greg and Tony two high school buddies bought it in 1985. Eventually Tony got out of the business and Greg had full ownership. He was probably the big influence of the US you know today. He did a massive expansion of the kitchen, added that deco ceiling mentioned in the post, and refreshed the woodwork with the original craftsman, added restrooms to the Michigan room. Ron Stewart, who opened Stewart's down the street, was one of Greg's chef's and Greg was supportive when he went to do his own thing. Greg did die a few years ago and his GM at the time Ginger took ownership. In the early 80s I met a guy there who was still spry and sharp he was well into his 90s and still lived in the same place around 3rd and Willis. He described the vintage version of Union St. with multiple service bars within those walls. He also described all the action walking from downtown to US, lively with a lot of people. In recent years Greg contacted relatives of Arturo [[maybe wife and his kids?) and invited them down for dinner and they described what it was like. At one point there was a stairway that extended from the main dining area to the second floor. At some point the second floor were returned to apts. In early City Directories residents were listed there. The apt stairway access was on Woodward. Greg had talked about reopening the restaurant stairway or activate the upstairs apts, but neither one happened. US also threw great Thanksgiving Day Parade parties for the staff. Many of you may remember Jack, Greg's long time GM, his wife Karen worked at the Florist next door. Jack and Karen opened Caffe Far Bella on Mack in St. Clair Shores....if you live out that way support them, great couple who had a rough business year due to Covid.