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Posted on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 5:57 a.m.

Mangiamo's Italian restaurant to open soon in former Kelly's, Saline Cafe space

By Laura Blodgett

071710-AJC-Mangiamo's-01.JPG

Pete Toarmina, owner of Mickey’s Dairy Twist in Saline, is part owner of Mangiamo’s along with his sisters Mary Sheko, Rose Tolson and their spouses.

Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com

The new owners of the Italian eatery that has taken over the former Kelly’s and Saline Café space in Saline have made great strides since purchasing the property on April 14—including deciding on a new name, “Mangiamo’s, which means “Let’s eat!“ in Italian.

“We just settled on the name,” said Pete Toarmina, owner of Mickey’s Dairy Twist in Saline, who is part owner of Mangiamo’s along with his sisters Mary Sheko, Rose Tolson and their spouses.

“It was really hard to decide. Over the past few months all of us came up with different names and two or three of us would really like it, but the others would not.”

Some of the names they passed on included their last name Toarmina, which is also the maiden name of his sisters, and Amarica, which was his mother’s name, but they were concerned people would think they had misspelled it.

The family hopes to open the restaurant soon after receiving liquor license approval from the city and state.

“The Liquor Control Commission recently visited the site and was happy with everything but led us to believe it will be another two months to get through the rest of the approval process,” says Toarmina.

In the meantime, they are renovating the 6,000-square-foot space including putting in a new ceiling in the bar as well as new walls, TVs and a quartz bar top and countertops. The carpet has been replaced with a new hardwood floor that is still wet from its last polyurethane coat. There will be an area behind glass where patrons can watch pizza being assembled.

“The kitchen and restaurant will be the next things we tackle,” says Toarmina. “We will be putting in hardwood floors in there as well as a completely different color scheme and different lighting.” They are planning on shades of green with oak trim and light wood flooring.

The restaurant will be a family restaurant with a price to match. “We don’t want to be a luxury, high-end establishment,” says Toarmina. “We want to be a place where parents are comfortable bringing their kids ---and can afford to bring them. I’m the oldest of eight kids, all my brothers and sisters have kids, we have five ice cream stores in the family, so we’re kid people.”

An element that certainly will make the restaurant kid-friendly is their plan to open an ice cream parlor and candy store with a separate entrance, which will most likely be called Mickey’s Downtown. “This will be a mini version of Mickey’s Dairy Twist,” says Toarmina. “When people are downtown walking around, they can stop in get an Almond Joy, caramel corn, popcorn or ice cream. This side will also provide desserts to the restaurant proper.”

Although they haven’t settled on a food supplier yet, they plan to offer pizza from Toarmina’s Pizza, a small chain of restaurants in southeast Michigan owned by Toarmina’s brother.

The storefront’s revival will add foot traffic to downtown Saline. It’s the fourth restaurant downtown, joining Mac’s Acadian Seafood Shack, Brecon Grille and Dan’s Downtown Tavern.

Comments

Veracity

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 3:28 p.m.

Can you identify the individuals in the picture? Also, I am not familiar with Kelly's so I would appreciate having the address of the restaurant mentioned. I assume that another article will appear when the restaurant is ready to open that will include the hours for operation and a phone number. Are there plans for a website that will include menus? Thanks

ffej440

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 1:15 p.m.

Great to see uptown Saline coming back to life! Now if we could just get something done with the Concannon project, we would look like an atractive city again. Maybe the city should buy it and make a parking lot?

Barb

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 9:37 a.m.

There's a typo in the photo caption "spouses. 's" Looking forward to another good restaurant in Saline. I love being able to eat there when it's insane in A2.

Trouble

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 9:01 a.m.

" Proof is in the pudding/"sauce". I will gladly try menu and see!

Corey

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 8:40 a.m.

I worked for Pete at Mickey's when they first opened up. He's a great guy to work for and I think this will be a great addition to the downtown restaurant scene in Saline.

SalineFan

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 7:58 a.m.

Our family can't wait to become regulars at this restaurant!

stunhsif

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 7:53 a.m.

Awsome news, who doesn't like Italian food! My favorite Italian joint is Leonardo's on Merriman Road in Romulus. I hope Mangiamo's can match their quality and prices.

JuliaAnnArb

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 7:25 a.m.

"Mangiamo" means "let's eat". "Mangiamo's" means "I'm from Michigan".

David Rhoads

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 7:24 a.m.

I have had the pleasure of knowing the Toarminas for a number of years and I am positive they will create an excellent restaurant. We are pleased to see that empty space filled by what promises to be a family friendly place to eat in our downtown. Let's eat - Mangiamos.

CC Fan

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 6:13 a.m.

I'm really looking forward to a new restaurant in Saline! Best of luck to the Toarmina family!

debling

Tue, Jul 20, 2010 : 5:51 a.m.

Great! Looking forward to trying the new place.