ANN ARBOR, MI — A family-owned Italian restaurant is taking over for a 75-year Ann Arbor staple, offering fresh pizza options, a lively atmosphere and indoor bocce ball courts just blocks from the University of Michigan campus.
Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar & Bocce opened in June in the former Original Cottage Inn at 512 E. William St. Owner Peter Coratti and his nephews, Peter Pfeffer and Anthony Coratti, opened their first pizza, bar and bocce concept in Howell in 2021.
They trace their family history in the restaurant business to a fine-dining Italian spot — also called Coratti’s — in Milford, an American-style pizzeria in Detroit, and their family roots in Italy.
Like in downtown Howell, the new restaurant serves up three types of pizza: authentic Neapolitan, square Detroit-style pan pizza and round, thin-crust American-style. Dough for the Detroit and American-style pies is made fresh each day.
Pizzas – from left, a Detroit-style meat lover’s pizza, Neapolitan-style Margherita and American-style vegetarian pie – at Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce, 512 E. William St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 12 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
The Neapolitan-style pizzas use their own blend of “00” light flour, which rises overnight and is then cooked in a high-temperature wood-fired oven.
Coratti and his nephew Pfeffer traveled to Naples specifically to learn how to make the authentic pies, which the menu divides into “Rosso” — variations that are topped with red sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes — and “Bianca,” which are drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
The restaurant describes itself as “serious about pizza,” and their Neapolitan-style pies are certified by the Italian organization Vera Pizza Napoletana.
While they were visiting family in Italy, Pfeffer and Coratti discovered a unique style of sandwich called Panuozzo that they resolved to bring back to the U.S.
“It’s from this town where we went to pizza school near Naples, Gragnano.” he said. “People come from all over Italy to eat these sandwiches. We wanted to do them here, and they’re a hit… They’re the most unique thing we have here.”
Served on the same style of dough as their Neapolitan pizza, the wood-fired sandwiches are loaded with fresh ingredients, from Italian deli meats like capocollo and mortadella to fresh mozzarella Caprese and even eclectic options like Detroit-based Wigley’s Corned Beef.
The Classic Italian Panuozzo sandwich featuring salami, capocollo, mortadella, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, giardiniera and Italian vinaigrette at Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce, 512 E. William St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 12 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
The restaurant’s shareable appetizers have also proven popular. Fried rice balls called suppli, also known as arancini, are served topped with Parmesan and tomato sauce. The similarly pan-fried Artichokes Tosca features artichoke hearts in a lighter egg batter, served sauteed in a lemon, white wine and butter sauce.
Mozzarella Caprese offers a lighter shareable option, pairing slices of fresh mozzarella with tomatoes, pesto, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. All three of the above appetizers — and several of the pizza options — are naturally vegetarian, which Coratti knew would be a priority for Ann Arbor eaters. The restaurant also has vegan options.
“We also have dairy-free cheese. We have it at both the other restaurants and don’t go through a ton of it. Here, we go through a lot of it,” he said. “We’re going to cater to that.”
Salads, a build-your-own pasta menu and classic Italian entrees like lasagna, eggplant Parmesan and rigatoni round out the menu.
Inside Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce, 512 E. William St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 12 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
Coratti says the family poured tens of thousands of dollars into the building during a year’s worth of renovations, which had been home to Cottage Inn for 75 years. He says they’ve kept a good relationship with the Michos family, founders of Cottage Inn.
The original hardwood floors were refinished, and the interior brick was preserved, including the iconic arched window that connects the dining room and bar.
The most obvious change to the building is the addition of new rolling garage doors that open to give the dining room a lively patio vibe.
“We invested a lot. We turned it into, basically, a new building,” Peter Coratti said. “We’ve had a lot of regulars at Cottage Inn say, ‘We didn’t want to see them go but we’re happy you guys did what you did.’”
Vintage Italian-made bicycles hang over the open stairway that leads guests to the second floor, home to an already-popular event space, a separate private dining room for up to a dozen guests and the restaurant’s signature — a pair of 70-foot-long bocce ball courts. The bocce courts have their own dedicated room, but guests can spectate from bar-style seating at a window that connects the bocce room to a bright, airy lounge.
The upstairs lounge at Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce, 512 E. William St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 12 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
Coratti says the bocce courts are an important part of the lively atmosphere that he hopes will attract various people — they’re already popular among university faculty.
“You can reserve [the courts], or we charge per person,” he said. “For the students, we only charge a dollar an hour. Basically it’s free, we just want them in there playing.”
Adults can play for $5 per person, and University of Michigan faculty play for half price.
Peter Coratti says the restaurant was redesigned with students in mind, and he hopes an energetic vibe will make Coratti’s a hangout spot for students, faculty and Ann Arbor townies alike.
“We want that loud, fun atmosphere – we’ll try to play music as loud as the customers will let us,” he said. “We want people to be laughing and having fun.”
Coratti’s has also opened a neighboring gelato shop and market, called Pietro’s, in the former Iorio’s Gelato space next door. The market serves up fresh gelato, house-made pastas, imported dry goods and beer and wine. Peter Coratti says he has plans to add pre-prepared take-away foods like pepperoni bread and fettucine alfredo pockets to the mix.
Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar & Bocce is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Coratti says he expects to extend weekend hours once students are back in town.
For now, the market and gelato bar have the same operating hours as the main restaurant.
Coratti says another Coratti’s with the same menu, bar and bocce courts is under construction in East Lansing with plans to open in January.
Customers can order takeout, book private events or order gift cards on the restaurant’s website.
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Dining and Cooking