Andiamo CEO fires back after Royal Oak mayor pans food

Bryce Airgood | Detroit Free Press

A verbal food fight of sorts has developed after Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier suggested Andiamo's food could be to blame for the Italian restaurant chain closing its Royal Oak location over the weekend.

Andiamo Group CEO and President Joe Vicari accused Fournier of "throwing sour grapes" and said that a statement he made about the restaurant is "baloney." He said he is considering legal action over the mayor's disparaging remarks.

Vicari said Fournier's suggestion the restaurant's product was not good enough for people to walk a block is "bull----."

Vicari said there is "one reason and one reason only" its Royal Oak location was closed after 19 years, and that's parking, although the business had been hurt by the rising popularity of restaurants in Ferndale and Detroit. He also previously cited rent increases.

Fournier had suggested in a prepared statement that the restaurant's food could be the real issue.

"This has nothing to do with parking and landlords, but perhaps everything to do with the product he offers," Fournier said. "There are over 1,000 parking spots within a block of his establishment. The surface lot has only been out of commission for weeks. Is he suggesting his product isn’t good enough for people to walk a block? Plenty of other restaurants are doing well that are not right next to surface parking."

Andiamo had been in Royal Oak for 19 years and the restaurant group had just spent $150,000 remodeling the place in the past two years, Vicari said.

"We were all in for us staying in Royal Oak," he said.

"Closing parking right behind us was really the last nail in the coffin," Vicari said in a previous interview, referring to the recent closing of a large city parking lot behind Andiamo and other Main Street businesses to make way for a new office building.

In his statement, Fournier said Vicari had never reached out to him with his concerns. He also said Vicari seemed quick to blame others for the closures and did not offer any reflection on what he could have done better.

Vicari said he did not know he was supposed to reach out to Fournier and he was not blaming anybody, except for losing parking.

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About 99 percent of his customers had parked in the parking lot that was taken away, Vicari said.

There are parking options about a block and a half away, but his customers were adults, not young people bar hopping. As such, they were not looking to walk that far to get to the restaurant and it would only get worse in the winter, he said.

Fournier said the city didn’t take away the parking, as it was a municipal lot and was used by a myriad of people visiting the downtown.

The decision to close the restaurant was made about a week ago when the restaurant's landlord was unwilling to meet and negotiate rent relief to help Andiamo cope with the recent scarcity of parking, Vicari said.

Since the restaurant lost the parking around six weeks ago, Vicari said it lost about 15 percent of sales a week, which equaled a loss of about $5,000 a week.

Fournier said the landlord seemed bullish on Royal Oak since he was unwilling to negotiate rent with Vicari, but, "In today’s marketplace you have to remain relevant or risk losing out."

"I wish Mr. Vicari the best of luck and hopefully he can find an outer-suburban strip mall with an oasis of parking that suits his business model better," he said.

The other eight Andiamo locations across Michigan, and two others in other states, will remain open, Vicari said.

The last night of service in Royal Oak was Friday.

Meanwhile in Royal Oak, plans have surfaced to bring a Bar Louie to the city's downtown in the spot where the Blackfinn Ameripub bar lived for 10 years until it closed last fall.

Franchise owner Anthony Marougi is promising to spend about $450,000 on remodeling the 7,400-square-foot building at 510-516 S. Main St., including new furniture, fixtures and equipment, according to city documents.

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The following is Fournier's full statement:

Sadly, Mr. Vicari never reached out to me to express his concerns. He seems quick to blame others and doesn’t offer any reflection on what he could have done better. He admits sales have been down 25% for the past couple years. This has nothing to do with parking and landlords, but perhaps everything to do with the product he offers. There are over 1,000 parking spots within a block of his establishment. The surface lot has only been out of commission for weeks. Is he suggesting his product isn’t good enough for people to walk a block? Plenty of other restaurants are doing well that are not right next to surface parking. To be clear, the city didn’t take away his parking - it was a municipal lot. It didn’t belong to him and was used by a myriad of people visiting our downtown. We are replacing that surface lot with 585 new parking spots and a class A office building that will house about 700 daytime workers - right outside his doorstep. His landlord also seems bullish on Royal Oak since he was unwilling to negotiate rent with Mr. Vicari. In today’s marketplace you have to remain relevant or risk losing out. Royal Oak is well underway executing our plan that will bring nearly 1,500 well paid jobs to downtown. While some people may be sad to see Adiamos go, almost everyone is excited about the $200 million of annual economic activity this project will bring to businesses in our downtown and beyond. Years ago we predicted the resurrection of Detroit and the evolution of neighboring communities. We, along with business owners, established a vision to bring a dynamic working environment to Royal Oak to ensure our city didn’t fall victim to the status quo. Today we are celebrating the fruits of those efforts. We are also empathetic to the inconvenience construction brings and are committed to helping everyone navigate through these temporary hurdles. I wish Mr. Vicari the best of luck and hopefully he can find an outer-suburban strip mall with an oasis of parking that suits his business model better. In the meantime Royal Oakers remain excited about what’s going on in our flourishing, relevant and growing paradise.