Brian Blancke, a partner in the family-owned Sindbad's Restaurant and Marina on Detroit’s riverfront, has died.

Blancke died Sept. 28 from complications of mouth and throat cancer at McLaren Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, family members said. He was 61.

The restaurant has been in the family since it was founded by Blancke’s father, Prudent “Buster” Blancke, and brother-in-law Hillaire "Van" VanHollebeke in 1949. It began inside what the restaurateurs recalled as a "ramshackle house," said to be a speakeasy during Prohibition, after which the eatery repeatedly expanded around the original building to hold hundreds of seats, according to the restaurant's website.

Born in Detroit in 1958, Blancke grew up in Grosse Pointe Park and graduated in 1977 from Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms.

After high school, he sold cars in Texas for a few years, but when his father fell ill in 1982 and died months later, "Brian came back and started working at the restaurant, and he's been here ever since," his brother Marc Blancke said.

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"We all worked together. He was a great host. He was our night manager, which was great for me because that let me go home at night," Marc said. As his brother lost weight and strength this summer following two years of cancer treatments, "He'd still come in when he could, always trying to help out," Marc said.

One of Brian Blancke's favorite pastimes was piloting the Sindbad, a 62-foot steel tugboat built in 1925 and renamed in 1981 when family patriarch Buster Blancke bought it, albeit in well-worn condition, Marc said.

"Pretty much, Brian and I fixed it up. We put new engines in it and Brian wheeled it a lot — took it down to Lake Erie sometimes. And at the end of every summer, he took all the help out.

"It's like a billboard for the restaurant," used for charity events and family outings, Marc said, adding: "I took that photo (of the tug) on the day he died."

It could be that family history repeats itself. Brian Blancke's son Matthew Blancke said he recently was laid off from his job as a real-estate project manager at Lear Corp.

"I'm probably going to go back to work there now" at Sindbad's, said Matthew, who lives in St. Clair Shores, where his father also lived.

"I will try to carry on my father's legacy with as much passion as he had for Detroit, and for all of our wonderful customers, friends and family," Matthew said.

Besides his brother and son, Brian Blancke is survived by his mother, Noella Blancke, and two sisters, Denise Blancke and Linda Salvadero.

A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a family hour from 10-11 a.m., at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 15020 Hampton St., Grosse Pointe Park. Donations may be made to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, 1820 Mount Elliott Street, Detroit 48207.

Contact Susan Selasky: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.