Preserving the Beverly Hills Grill
Raphael Michael of Beverly Hills Grill. Photo courtesy SMC.
Where everybody knows your name
By Sari Cicurel
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 social media @beverlyhillsgrill.