Vinsetta Garage Eatery in Berkley Wants to Level Houses for More Parking

[softailrider]

Forest Grill in Birmingham has basically no parking and they just contract out with neighboring parking lots. Why can't Vinsetta do the same?

Or just institute an all-valet system. Problem solved.

Forest Grill doesn't do anywhere near the business Vinsetta does.

[edoug85]

Seems like your classic NIMBY case. Don't live right off Woodward, places change.

[Cliffy]

Berkley should have never allowed that. You build a restaurant with 8 parking spaces and you want people to park on all the side streets in front of people's homes. Get real. I do have to give it up to the owner. The guy makes a killing. I can't think of any restaurants in the area that have the constant traffic and this is now going on 2 years. The food is good but its one of those places you can only go every 6 months unless you want to die fast.

[Cliffy]

Forest Grill doesn't do anywhere near the business Vinsetta does.

No restaurant in Birmingham does the business of Vinsetta. Birmingham restaurants have to be the biggest joke. Come up with some fancy name, serve overpriced food, and then close within a year because the rent is killing them.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

There really is something inconsistent with " a 2 hour wait and "not enough parking." What is the goal - a 4 hour wait?

[Johnnny5]

There really is something inconsistent with " a 2 hour wait and "not enough parking." What is the goal - a 4 hour wait?

Perhaps tear downs and parking are just a play for a future expansion of the building?

[rb336]

I seem to remember when the idea for turning it into a restaurant was first floated, a bunch of people from here [[or maybe some other site) pointed out that the parking was going to be an issue

[compn]

was not impressed with the pizza at vinsetta garage.

[MSUguy]

Residents near the Vinsetta Garage said they are bitter that the restaurant gained city approval to open in 2012 by promising to use a bank’s oversized parking lot that is a block north of the restaurant. But the restaurant’s co-owner, Curt Catallo, admitted that he doesn’t expect anyone to park there because he considers it to be an impractically long walk from his venue

http://www.freep.com/article/20140526/NEWS03/305260016/Vinsetta-Garage-Dream-Cruise-parking

A block is an impractically long walk? This guy wants to permanently alter a neighborhood for a restaurant that may not even be around in ten years, because asking patrons to walk a block is too far? Now I'm kinda glad this idiot didn't open this place in the city, God forbid people having people walk two or three blocks this fucker would be looking to level every surrounding building.

[softailrider]

No restaurant in Birmingham does the business of Vinsetta. Birmingham restaurants have to be the biggest joke. Come up with some fancy name, serve overpriced food, and then close within a year because the rent is killing them.

Fleming's has been there for a while. I think I put out a better steak from my 99.00 Weber in my backyard.

[ABetterDetroit]

No restaurant in Birmingham does the business of Vinsetta. Birmingham restaurants have to be the biggest joke. Come up with some fancy name, serve overpriced food, and then close within a year because the rent is killing them.

Mitchels seafood, 220 steaks, for decades has been very good food. Do you know who owns 220 now? She came to play to win. Looking forward to the renovations completions.

[Lowell]

If your restaurant is desirable people will figure out a way to to get there and wait in line to boot. Look at Slow's. No lot and sketchy street parking. Vinsetta seems to be doing super with the added advantage no not having the sketchiness drawback.

So the move by the owner to create the lot smells more like a move to improve the value of his real estate than improving the bottom line of his eatery. It seems clear that the zoning board was short-sighted on requiring adequate parking.

It reminds of back in the 90's when I was involved with the set up of a cyber cafe in Birmingham. The zoning hearings for parking was brutal with side street parking was absolutely off limits and posted.

But the owners got their way with that and some other variances by making some seemingly crippling concessions. Then they opened the doors and promptly ignored them. I remember thinking, "So that's how its done. Tell them what they want to hear then do what you want to do."

[NoHeartAnthony]

Seems like your classic NIMBY case. Don't live right off Woodward, places change.

How about not telling people where to live?

[bailey]

How about not telling people where to live?

Not telling them where to live.... but living spitting distance from Woodward and complaining about traffic or parking or loud restaurant patrons or too much commerical activity is a bit like moving to a sprawl house in farm country and complaining that the fields smell of manure.

[Smirnoff]

Merle expressed a bar erected in the parking lot will in the provide patrons with cold refreshments while waiting for a restaurant seat.....

[Oddz313]

I like the place, the mac and cheese is second to slows. It has a nice interior and bar that opens up like a garage, they play a decent radio mix and have good beers on tap. Parking in front of peoples homes all the time would be annoying to everyone on the block day in and out. Some guy from southwest detroit had an authentic mexican restaurant on the next block that he started in the mid 90's I believe called margaritas. He was trying for many years to get a liquor license but could never get one. The owner of this place got one very quickly, now the mexican joint is a cell phone store.

[compn]

margaritas had good mexican food, i miss that place everytime i pass by.
just goes to show good food gets no respect in royal oak.

as long as we're talking woodward eateries, i cant believe anyone eats at redcoat tavern. served me a raw-pink hamburger! disgusting.

[rb336]

margaritas had good mexican food, i miss that place everytime i pass by.
just goes to show good food gets no respect in royal oak.

as long as we're talking woodward eateries, i cant believe anyone eats at redcoat tavern. served me a raw-pink hamburger! disgusting.

How did you order it?

[compn]

well done. its possible the waitress delivered the wrong burger to me, but i dont want to eat somewhere where they serve raw burgers to anyone.

[rb336]

well done. its possible the waitress delivered the wrong burger to me, but i dont want to eat somewhere where they serve raw burgers to anyone.

Someone probably ordered "true rare." They grind their own meat, very unlikely to contain the nasties you get in pre-ground hamburger

[Bham1982]

as long as we're talking woodward eateries, i cant believe anyone eats at redcoat tavern. served me a raw-pink hamburger! disgusting.

Thank God I've finally found someone who also doesn't "get" Red Coat Tavern. Most overrated hamburger on earth, on a supermarket bun, with frozen fries and canned soup. Add in high prices, circa 1974 rec room decor, and long lines.Yum...

[Smirnoff]

Thank God I've finally found someone who also doesn't "get" Red Coat Tavern. Most overrated hamburger on earth, on a supermarket bun, with frozen fries and canned soup. Add in high prices, circa 1974 rec room decor, and long lines.Yum...

Thank you, appreciated......

[DetroitPlanner]

Someone probably ordered "true rare." They grind their own meat, very unlikely to contain the nasties you get in pre-ground hamburger

You can still get nasties from barely cooked meat.

Just checked google, there are no houses behind it, only an ugly apartment building with a very nerdy republican owner. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Vinse...157.54,,2,7.79

[SDCC]

You can still get nasties from barely cooked meat.

E coli for one

[Wesley Mouch]

One word. Zoning.

More words. This isn't the first time business and residential are at crossed purposes. That's why zoning exists. It resolves these issues. We shouldn't deal with this as a single instance.

If the zoning allows demolition of house and replacement with parking... well then the neighbors should have known this.

if it doesn't, then Vinsetta should have known that.