Angelo's Fine Italian is scheduled to open today, Thursday, Oct. 29, at 16844 Kercheval. The storefront was home to City Kitchen for nearly 20 years. The Detroit News reported the date on Oct. 13. That ends a vacancy Hour Detroit put at about three years.
The two chefs behind it have national résumés. Jared Gadbaw ran Marea in New York, which held two Michelin stars, for nine years. Cory Barberio was the opening chef della cucina at San Morello in the Shinola Hotel. At Angelo's, the hours, the happy hour, the downstairs room and the menu all suggest a place for a Tuesday after work as much as an anniversary.
Two chefs who made their names pushing boundaries, cooking what they grew up eating
Gadbaw grew up in Garden City. Barberio was born in upstate New York. Hour Detroit notes they both cooked in New York at the same time without ever meeting. They got to know each other later through Detroit's restaurant scene. Barberio moved to Detroit in 2018 to open San Morello for Andrew Carmellini's NoHo Hospitality, after working his way up under Carmellini at Locanda Verde. Gadbaw also came home in 2018 and opened Oak & Reel two years later. Hour Detroit named Oak & Reel its 2022 Restaurant of the Year.
Angelo's isn't replacing either chef's other work. Gadbaw will keep running Oak & Reel, and Barberio is leaving the Shinola Hotel to focus on Angelo's full time.
What they chose to cook says a lot. Hour Detroit describes both chefs as "known for pushing the envelope," yet this concept leans into tradition. Barberio explained why in that interview:
"Italian American food in general is what I grew up with. And closer to my heart as I've gotten older. It's kind of the food that brings people together and makes the experience a little more convivial."
The name works on two levels too. It's a family name for Barberio, and it also nods to the classic Italian-American restaurants called Angelo's, especially Angelo's on Mulberry Street, which Hour Detroit says ran in New York's Little Italy for 115 years. Barberio told the magazine that "Fine Italian" is "a nod to Jared's and my attention to detail, and the time that we've spent honing our craft."
A menu of dishes you'd order again
The restaurant's website calls Angelo's a "neighborhood Italian-American restaurant" built on homemade pasta, slow-cooked sauces and Italian classics. The posted menu is labeled a sample that will change with the seasons and with what's available. It doesn't list prices yet. Highlights from that sample:
- To start: baked clams, eggplant parm bites and meatballs al forno
- Pasta: a list of handmade pasta dishes, made from scratch every day, according to Hour Detroit
- Mains: trout saltimbocca and chicken scarparello
- At the bar: classic cocktails including a Last Word, a Clover Club, an Old Fashioned and a Sazerac, plus wine by the bottle
Barberio told Hour Detroit he expects Italian-American classics "with a higher level of craftsmanship that Jared and I are known for." He also hopes to bring in some regional favorites from upstate New York. Hour Detroit reports the kitchen will source locally as much as possible.
The hours tell you who it's for
The schedule backs up the "neighborhood" label. The Detroit News reports dinner starts at 5 p.m. every night except Monday. Happy hour runs 3 to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. That gives Angelo's a two-hour window before dinner, six days a week, for a drink and a plate of meatballs after work or after an afternoon of errands on Kercheval. Reservations are on Resy, linked from angelosfineitalian.com.
The room is built the same way. Hour Detroit reported plans for about 100 seats on the first floor and a 15-seat bar. Downstairs is a 40-seat private dining room. Grosse Pointe News described an open kitchen upstairs and a lower-level event room with its own bar and AV equipment. Royal Oak-based VERSA designed the interior. VERSA also designed Oak & Reel and its downstairs bar, The Upright.
A private room with its own bar and AV setup is made for rehearsal dinners, milestone birthdays, team dinners and club meetings. Gadbaw told Hour Detroit the plan goes beyond the regular menu:
"We want to make sure that we're presenting a unique opportunity, whether that be through special dinners, wine dinners, or suppers, to drive people in."
The menu is mostly à la carte. Wine dinners and special suppers are how a restaurant gives regulars a reason to come back next month.
City Hall wanted this storefront filled
How Angelo's got its sign shows the city wanted a tenant here.
C&G News reported that Gadbaw went before the Grosse Pointe City Council on July 13 to get the sign approved. The script logo, slanted upward, technically broke the city's sign ordinance in two ways:
| Measure | Ordinance maximum | Angelo's sign |
|---|---|---|
| Height of a logo built into the lettering | 18 inches | 48.5 inches |
| Total sign area | 24 square feet | 30 square feet |
Scott McColley of Phillips Sign & Lighting, the company making the sign, told the council a smaller version "wouldn't work." City Attorney Charles "Chuck" Kennedy called the compliant mockup "ridiculous" and too small for the building. He noted, "This is a much larger building than many of the other buildings" in The Village, and said he didn't see the approval setting a precedent. Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak agreed, according to C&G:
"The spirit of this ordinance is to keep it from being overwhelming. Anything smaller doesn't fill the space and doesn't look good … and we want it to look good."
The council approved the sign unanimously. It also unanimously approved backlighting, on the condition that it's on a dimmer and stays at 3,000 lumens or less. The building's old gooseneck light fixtures have been removed, so the backlit painted-aluminum letters are the only exterior lighting on the front. Councilman Seth Krupp said the sign "looks nice." Councilman Christopher Walsh said, "Anyone who opens a business in our town we're excited about."
The space has a long history as a restaurant. A 2012 Metromode profile said City Kitchen had opened six years earlier, which puts its start around 2006, and that it was finishing a bar expansion that year. After that long run, the building sat empty for about three years before Angelo's signed on.
Opening into The Village's busiest stretch of the year
Angelo's opens just as The Village heads into its holiday season, so the first month brings plenty of foot traffic past the new sign. Here's how the first weeks line up, using the City of Grosse Pointe's special events page and the Village's 2026 events schedule:
| Date | In The Village | At Angelo's |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Scheduled opening night | |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Trick or Treat in The Village, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. | Happy hour starts at 3 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m. |
| Mon., Nov. 2 | Closed, as every Monday | |
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Third Thursday shopping | Open |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Tree lighting, festivities start at 5:30 p.m. beside Lululemon, with the Grosse Pointe South Choir | Dinner from 5 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Santa Claus Parade | Open |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday and Santa's Workshop | Open |
The Village schedule lists dates for the parade and Santa's Workshop but not times, so check closer to the day. Angelo's follows a 3:30 Trick or Treat on its second day and the tree lighting three weeks later. Whatever the opening weeks are like, the restaurant gets an early test of how it handles a full house.
Barberio summed up the goal in the restaurant's announcement, as quoted by The Detroit News: "We want people to walk in and immediately feel at home." The 40-seat room downstairs, the happy hour six days a week and the rotating sample menu are all built around that line.
Shana keeps close track of what opens and closes along Kercheval, because those changes shape day-to-day life near The Village. If you're thinking about how close to these blocks you'd like to live, or what a home near them is worth today, Shana Sine Cameron would be glad to walk the streets with you. Schedule Your Free Consultation.
