KALAMAZOO, MI — It’s been the longtime dream of Bryan and Missie Adams to own a restaurant.
So when the Milwood residents heard one of their favorite eateries was for sale, they decided to take the plunge.
This week, ownership of Angelo’s Italian Eatery just north of the Kalamazoo airport officially changed hands. Bryan and Missie Adams are the new owners.
But for now at least, that’s the only thing that’s changing, Missie Adams said. The restaurant will keep the same menu, same staff.
And perhaps more importantly for Angelo’s regulars, Mary Barnhart, the former co-owner, is staying on as a staffer to make the homemade bread that has made Angelo’s grinders and pizzas famous among locals.
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Angelo’s Italian Eatery is known for its fresh bread and grinders
Angelo’s opened sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and Patrick and Mary Barnhart purchased it in 2000.
Under the Barnharts, Angelo’s was known for its grinders — and particularly the homemade grinder rolls that Mary Barnhart made daily.
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The Adams couple have been customers of Angelo’s for about 20 years, Missie Adams said.
“We live very close,” she said.
When Bryan and Missie Adams heard the Barnharts had reached retirement age and were looking to sell, they were “nervous that it might just go under, to be honest,” and decided this was their opportunity to own a restaurant.
Bryan and Missie Adams are in their mid-40s. Bryan spent most of his career with a local manufacturer, and recently left that job to work at Angelo’s full time. Missie is a preschool teacher at Kalamazoo’s Arcadia Elementary School and will help out at the restaurant on Saturdays and when she’s on school breaks, she said.
Bryan and Missie Adams, left, with Mary and Patrick Barnhart The Barnharts have just sold their restaurant, Angelo’s Italian Eatery in Portage, to the Adams.Aleyah Mayne/Michigan Small Business Development Center
“We haven’t owned anything before, but we have always dreamed about having our own restaurant,” Missie Adams said. “We have three adult children, and throughout their childhood, we always would talk about getting a restaurant and who would do what.”
In fact, one of their daughters is in the culinary industry, working for Greenleaf Hospitality, which owns the Radisson Hotel downtown, and as an instructor for the culinary program at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
“So we’ve got a great adviser to help us,” Missie Adams said.
During the transition, Adams said she and her husband have been working closely with the Barnharts “to learn all the tricks of the trade.”
The only change they’re contemplating right now is adding a catering menu, aimed at businesses wanting to serve lunch to staff or others.
The new owners are hosting a grand re-opening on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event will include food samples and a raffle every half hour, with free tickets distributed to paying customers.
Angelo’s is located at 5401 Portage Road in the strip mall just north of the Kalamazoo airport. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and is closed Sundays. Its phone number is (269) 342-9906 and the website is angelositalianeatery.com. The business is also on Facebook.
Dining and Cooking