The building just north of 14 Mile Road that West Bloomfield knew as Champps has a Greek name on it again. Farther up Orchard Lake Road, north of Maple, the former Don Juan Mexican Restaurant is being turned into a bar and eatery called Stoli's. Neither one is a newcomer to a blank lot. Each takes over a storefront the township already has history with, and each comes from a restaurant family whose name West Bloomfield diners already know.
Two existing restaurant families are picking addresses with history and building very different evenings inside them, one at each end of the stretch most residents drive every week.
The Name Coming Back Near 14 Mile
AP Tommy's is now open at 7410 Orchard Lake Road, in the space that was once a Champps sports bar. The Detroit Free Press reports that the owners renovated and remodeled it. West Bloomfield Patch puts it on Orchard Lake Road just north of 14 Mile, at the township's southern end of the corridor.
The owners are Andy Stylianou and business partner Paul Russo. The restaurant is named for the late Athanasios "Tommy" Peristeris, Stylianou's father-in-law and mentor. Peristeris came from Greece to the U.S. in 1971 and spent five decades running Greek restaurants across metro Detroit. He started in Greektown with Old Parthenon and New Parthenon, then went on to Little Daddy's and the well-known Big Daddy's. The Detroit News adds that New Parthenon had six levels, tall Greek columns and a waterfall when it opened in late 1989.
Big Daddy's sat on Orchard Lake Road for decades. The Detroit News calls the new restaurant "a bit of a homecoming." In the meantime, Stylianou and his wife, Eleni, kept the family cooking going at Big Tommy's Parthenon in Novi. Stylianou said many of the family's West Bloomfield regulars followed them there. In a media alert quoted by The Detroit News, he said:
"Coming back to Orchard Lake Road is incredibly meaningful because it gives us the opportunity to honor Tommy's legacy while creating something new for the future. We can't wait to welcome old friends back and introduce AP Tommy's to a new generation."
The address is new to the family, but the road isn't. Guests who made the drive to Novi now have a West Bloomfield option again.
What the Menu Carries Forward
The family recipes are the core of the menu. According to the Free Press, the family signatures include Tommy's chopped salad, the spinach pie and the lamb chops. Around them are seafood, steaks, moussaka, grape leaves, chicken and pasta. The Detroit News also lists saganaki, whole grilled fish, beef kabobs and a bone-in filet mignon.
The building is sized for occasions as much as weeknights. It seats 200, has a 20-seat full bar with handcrafted cocktails and a long wine list, and includes private rooms for events.
For now, it's mostly a dinner restaurant. The Free Press lists these opening hours:
- Monday through Thursday: 4 to 10 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 4 to 11 p.m.
- Sunday: noon to 9 p.m., the only day with lunch service to start
So Sunday afternoon is the one daytime window right now. It's the easiest time to take a parent or grandparent who remembers Big Daddy's back for a long Greek lunch. The full menu is posted at aptommys.com.
Up the Road, a Second Address on the Same Block
At the north end of the corridor, Stoli's is building an evening around a different idea. DBusiness places it at 6203 Orchard Lake Road, north of West Maple. The Free Press notes that this is the former Don Juan Mexican Restaurant.
The owner is Prime Concepts Detroit, a West Bloomfield-based hospitality group, and the address puts it a few street numbers from one of its own restaurants. Aurora Italiana sits at 6199 Orchard Lake Road. Crain's Detroit Business reported it was slated to open Sept. 7, 2023, and DBusiness covered its debut that September. The group's own roster also lists NARA Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse and Prime29 Steakhouse in West Bloomfield. DBusiness reported NARA's opening at 5656 W. Maple Road back in 2018.
The Aurora Italiana and Stoli's pairing is the part that matters for a night out. One group will soon run two restaurants a few doors apart on the same block of Orchard Lake Road, each with its own role. Aurora covers the sit-down Italian dinner. Stoli's is designed as the place you stay longer.
The name belongs to Stolion "Stoli" Liti, the group's managing partner and director of operations. In comments to DBusiness, Prime Concepts CEO and chairman Joe Barbat said, "I've been trying to convince Stoli to do this for years." He called Liti "Mr. Hospitality" and said Stoli's is the first restaurant built around him.
A Different Kind of Night at 6203
The Free Press reports that the menu draws on "Italian trattorias, French bistros and Spanish tascas," with a scratch kitchen. Dishes include a creamy carbonara and a mortadella sandwich with mornay sauce. There's also a run of elevated comfort food led by a double smash cheeseburger, plus halal options. The kitchen follows the group's standards across its restaurants, with no seed oils, premium meats, organic poultry and grass-fed beef.
What really separates Stoli's from its neighbors is the room. The plans call for pool tables, dart boards, weekly trivia nights and pool leagues. DBusiness also describes a late-night menu called XIII Hour, served dine-in and to-go from 10:30 p.m. until close on Fridays and Saturdays. It's built around burgers, fries and a French dip.
Here's how the two new spots compare, based on what each has announced:
| AP Tommy's | Stoli's | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 7410 Orchard Lake Rd., north of 14 Mile | 6203 Orchard Lake Rd., north of W. Maple |
| Former tenant | Champps | Don Juan Mexican Restaurant |
| Seating | 200, plus a 20-seat bar and private rooms | About 80, plus a lounge, bar and 50-seat seasonal patio |
| Daytime service | Sunday lunch only, to start | Lunch daily, brunch Saturday and Sunday |
| Late night | Open until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday | XIII Hour menu from 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Built around | Family Greek recipes and big-table dinners | Comfort food, trivia, pool leagues and darts |
| Status | Open | Opening date not yet announced |
Put next to each other, the two cover different kinds of nights. AP Tommy's is set up for the birthday dinner, the rehearsal-dinner overflow room and the lamb chops someone's family has ordered for 30 years. Stoli's is set up for a Tuesday trivia team, a weekend brunch and a burger after 10:30 p.m. Between them, they cover a stretch of evening that Orchard Lake Road couldn't fully fill this summer.
Planning the Next Few Weeks
AP Tommy's is the one you can book now. Since lunch is only served Sunday for the time being, weeknight visits start at 4 p.m. The private rooms are worth asking about early if you're planning a holiday gathering.
Stoli's is still a "coming soon." The Free Press's Oct. 14 report said there was no opening date yet, and DBusiness said the official opening date and reservation details would be announced in the coming weeks. Until it opens, Aurora Italiana next door is the group's address on that block, and the Prime Concepts Detroit site is the place to watch for the announcement.
When the 6203 doors do open, a single evening could start with dinner on one end of Orchard Lake Road and end with a late game of pool on the other. Both stops are in buildings the township already knew under other names.
An address's history affects how a neighborhood feels, and it affects what nearby homes are worth too. If you live off Orchard Lake Road and want to know how the corridor's latest changes show up in your home's value, Kyle Matta can walk you through it street by street. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation and see where your West Bloomfield address stands this fall.
