‘Old School’ Ways Keeps Primo’s Going 41 Years Later
06
MARCH 2019
BY BRAD KADRICH
LBN Community Series
Birmingham
Back in the day, there was a television show about a fictional bar where “everybody knows your name.”
At Primo’s Pizza in Birmingham,
MICHAEL BEAUFORE
GENERAL MANAGER, PRIMO’S PIZZA
It’s not really that
“Probably 75 percent of our customers we know by name. They’re that regular. There are people who eat here five or six days a week,” said general manager Michael
“We’ve been here long enough that the children who used to come in here with their parents are now bringing their own children in,” he added. “They’ve grown up in this place.”
Some of the staff has, too.
“It’s a good atmosphere here … We take care of the employees well, and they seem to really enjoy it,”
One of them is Joe Larson, a cook who’s been at
“It’s great pizza, we use good ingredients, the customers like us and they like our food,” Larson said. “I enjoy my job.”
“Probably 75 percent of our customers we know by name. They’re that regular. There are people who eat here five or six days a week.”
While feeding the customers who come into the store, Primo’s also reaches out to others in the community. The restaurant is particularly involved with the local schools, providing pizza for the concession stands at both Birmingham public schools – Seaholm and Groves – as well as for events and activities at local elementary schools and churches.
That kind of community outreach is integral to the store’s success.
“That’s a real part of us,” Beaufore said. “It’s always been very important for us to be part of this community, and that starts with the schools.”
That’s OK with Seaholm High School senior Joseph Henze, who’s been getting lunchtime pizza at Primo’s the last two years.
Primo’s is in proximity to his school and the pizza “is delicious,” according to Henze.
“It’s fresh every time I get it,” Henze said. “And it’s good every time I get it.”
Primo’s isn’t solely a pizza place – there’s a full kitchen, where you can get sandwiches, ribs, pasta and salads, and a convenience store attached with beer, wine
“We’re open late. I think that’s an advantage,”
Still, Primo’s wouldn’t be nearly as successful without the pizza. Beaufore said the secret to the eatery’s success is the “old-school” way they do things there.
Primo’s prime product is made by hand, starting with dough made fresh every day. Cooks also hand-cut the vegetables and other toppings – something
“We do things old-school,”
Not only is Primo’s the “pizza place to be” for current Birmingham residents
“It’s a place of destination now. If people grew up in Birmingham and moved away … if they come back for a holiday or other reasons, they seem to always want to get their Primo’s,”
That’s why the store does so much community outreach.
“We’ve always felt we are part of the Birmingham community, so that’s very important,”
Primo’s Pizza
966 S. Adams Road
Birmingham, MI 48009
(248) 642-1400
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