BY LARRY SOBCZAK
EDITOR
A longtime Ray Township business is changing hands after being in the same family for 35 years.
Joe Sapienza said that his family sold Vince and Joe’s Pizza and Deli to Sam Gago on Oct. 18.
“It was hard but it was time. It’s hard to find employees. My parents are getting older. Vince and I have kids in school and that keeps us busy,” Sapienza said. “We weren’t looking to sell but it turned out to be a good offer.”
The carryout Italian food and grocery store opened its doors on April 18, 1987 in the tiny unincorporated burg of Davis near the intersection of 27 Mile and Romeo Plank roads.
Sapienza said that his dad, who also goes by Joe, was looking for a change in careers from his cement contracting business, specifically relief from strain the job was placing on his back.
Sapienza said back when the store opened, his dad was still in his 50s so it was too soon for him to retire. Meanwhile, Joe and his brother, Vince, were in their late teens and ready to enter the workforce.
“We decided from the start that it was going to be a family business with everyone involved and it was going to have high quality Italian food made the old school way,” Sapienza said.
The store quickly became locally famous particularly for its mini-pizzas and wide variety of panni sandwiches as well as a cornucopia of Italian dishes made daily.
“The food and recipes are all from my mom, Rosa. Vince, my dad and myself are the cooks,” he said.
When the store opened, it was one of the few places to buy hot food and groceries in the area.
Sapienza said the area was still rural and the road was lightly travelled. It not uncommon for a farmer on a tractor to regularly roll into the parking lot to pick up lunch or dinner.
“The neighborhood kids would ride their bikes up to the store all the time. Everyone trick-or-treated up and down Romeo Plank. We weren’t ready for that the first year,” he said. “We watched a lot of the kids grow up.”
The Sapienza soon saw suburban sprawl creep over the farms in Macomb Township and they expanded their store by increasing the size of their deli counters, kitchen and wine selection to accommodate their expanding customer base.
They opened a new store in 1996 called Gourmet Express one mile south in the gas station at the corner of 26 Mile and Romeo Plank roads to meet the demands of an ever-increasing mobile suburban customer base.
“It was one of the first of its kind,” he said.
Things continued to evolve for the family over the next decade or more.
The family sold Gourmet Express in 2012. Vince and Joe took on jobs at the Ford Motor Company and began building families of their own. Between the two brothers, their parents now have five grandchildren to keep them busy.
The new owner, Gago, said that he promises to continue the Sapienza’s food traditions and he is currently in the middle of major renovation of the store.
Sapienza said that his family misses seeing their loyal customers everyday but the store’s sale does provide some relief for his family.
“After 35 years, we finally will have weekends off,” he said.
