MARCH 2024

ECONOMICS & ENTERPRISE
Beverly Hills Grill
Where everybody knows your name
BY SARI CICUREL
Raphael Michael of Beverly Hills Grill. Photo courtesy SMC.
Often when a restaurant changes
ownership, there’s a complete
remodel, the menu is
scrapped, and several employees are
let go. But when Raphael Michael took
ownership of the Beverly Hills Grill, he
made a promise to founder Bill Roberts
that he wasn’t going to do that.
“When I met with Bill, he told me
he didn’t want someone to take over
the Grill and abandon everything he
had built over the last 34 years,” said
Michael. “Bill had a very deep loyalty
to his staff, and he wanted to make
sure his predecessor would take care
of them. I told him, ‘If you choose me,
I will continue your legacy.’”
And that’s exactly what Michael
has done – maintaining what guests
have come to expect from the restaurant
while keeping all of Roberts’ employees
on the team.
“The staff here is amazing. Once I
took over, everyone who was here before
– they all stayed on. When they
realized that my best interest was their
best interest, they accepted me as part
of the family,” said Michael.
Working in the restaurant industry
since he was a student at Eastern
Michigan University, Michael started
out as an assistant manager at Happy’s
Pizza in Ann Arbor when he was
19. At age 24, he bought the pizzeria’s
Kalamazoo location, where he stayed
for the next 12 years. In October 2022,
he moved to metro Detroit and took
over Beverly Hills Grill.
Since then, his only changes have
been to bring back brunch, which
halted during COVID-19, and hire more
employees to keep up with the demand.
Only two months after taking
ownership, he launched a breakfast/
brunch/lunch menu, which is now offered
every Tuesday through Sunday
from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“We’re working to get the word out
because many guests who used to come
all the time for brunch haven’t realized
it’s back now. When people see we’re
open, they’re so happy that we serve
breakfast again,” Michael said.
Some of the most popular brunch
items are the crab omelet, shrimp and
grits, Oreo pancakes, banana fosters
French toast, and corned beef hash.
For dinner, which starts at 3 p.m. every
day but Sunday, meatloaf has been a
guest favorite since the restaurant first
opened in 1988. Other staples include
creole gulf shrimp linguine, chipotle
honey glazed salmon, and veal marsala.
“Everything on your plate is made
fresh. It doesn’t come in a bag. That’s
how Bill Roberts did it for years and
years, and we’re continuing that level
of expectation,” Michael said.
Known as “The Cheers of Birmingham,”
Beverly Hills Grill is a place
where everybody knows your name –
as well as your food and drink order.
“We have a lot of regulars here, and
I’ve gotten to know all of them. When
I first started, I noticed that guests
would talk to each other from different
tables. I’ve been to a lot of restaurants,
and I’ve never seen that happen
before. But you see that here. This is
really the neighborhood place to go,”
Michael said.
You know – in case you want to go
where everybody knows your name.
Beverly Hills Grill is located at
31471 Southfield Road. The restaurant
now takes online reservations at
https://beverlyhillsgrill.com or s
ocial media @beverlyhillsgrill.
34 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2024