Downriver restaurant Portofino eyes finish
Dining mainstay will close at end of month
Portofino, a Downriver dining mainstay on the Detroit River for more than 40 years, announced it will shutter at the end of December.
Jerry Beasley, Portofino’s managing partner, told the Free Press Thursday that he and his partners at the Farmington Hills-based Ansara Restaurant Group — which also operates all Red Robin restaurants in Michigan, four Twin Peaks restaurants and several other restaurants in Michigan and Ohio — “decided after a lot of deliberation” they would close the Wyandotte restaurant on Biddle Avenue at the north end of the Detroit River’s Trenton Channel.
Beasley said the locally owned Ansara Restaurant Group is concentrating on its other affiliated properties including a new concept called Daily Jam.
Portofino’s last day of business will be New Year’s Eve.
Portofino employees, Beasley said, were told Wednesday night that the restaurant was closing and would be offered other positions at Ansara’s other restaurants. He called Portofino a “generational restaurant,” noting that many generations of family members have worked there.
Joe Gruber, Wyandotte’s community and economic development director, said he was saddened by the news of Portofino’s closing.
“I’ve had too many great times at Portofino to recount — summer nights on the boat and family parties,” Gruber, who also serves as director of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, said in a text message to the Free Press. “I loved bringing out-of-town guests and newcomers to showcase Wyandotte’s incredible waterfront. It was one of the best spots for that. And while I’m saddened by the sudden closing, I’m excited about what’s to come in its place. The state of the Wyandotte
restaurant scene is strong and growing stronger. It is an exquisite property, no doubt something awesome will come to town soon.”
Beasley cited the changing landscape of the way restaurants are built.
“If you look around at restaurants today in the way they are built today, they take the form of a micro restaurant,”
said. “They take up a small space and generate a lot of income.
“Portofino on the other hand is a huge restaurant.”
Known for its vast dining room, banquet areas, outdoor patio and deck, Portofino can seat a total of more than 800 people.
“We couldn’t get smaller, but our market shrunk,” BeasBeasley ley said, adding that they will “be working with banquets that have been previously booked after New Year’s Eve.”
When Portofino got its start, Beasley said nearby competitive restaurants included Sibley’s (Sibley Gardens on Jefferson in Trenton) and a rib house on the corner of Biddle and Eureka, with 150 to 200 seats.
“Now there are 30 restaurants in the area and times that by the number of seats.”
While it was difficult to operate the restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, Beasley said that is not the reason for the closure.
“Portofino has run its course,” he said. “We kept it open for all these years and right now we feel like we need to take a different direction and either do something with the property or offer the business to another operator.”
Beasley added that the “property is worth more than what the restaurant generates in profits.”
“It’s a basic economic fact. We are on the river and we have two lots on the river and there may very well be somebody that needs that spot, that location or wants to use that location,” he said. The owners are not interested, Beasley said, in leasing or renting the property.
Portofino has been operating since October 1980, first as Portside Inn, according to its website.
The restaurant became known as Portofino in 2000, Beasley said. Portofino is known as a destination spot on the banks of the Detroit River’s Trenton Channel. Portofino offers clear and gorgeous views of the Detroit River and downtown Detroit including the underconstruction Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada.
The restaurant is a popular spot, especially in the warmer months, to enjoy the river views and boat watching. Its large atrium faces the water and has been used for weddings and other private events.
Its lunch and dinner menus featured mainly American fare with an array of seafood, including a catch of the day option and perch, as well as a selection of pasta dishes, burgers, steaks and chicken. Portofino’s shareable menu featured its popular coconut shrimp served with an orange horseradish marmalade.
The restaurant also offered many special event cruises and private outings on its 100-foot luxury yacht. Beasley said the “vessel has been a tremendous benefit,” booking 100 cruises every summer.
“We are not sure what direction we are going with (the boat) . ... Will it be for sale with the restaurant or a separate sale?” Beasley said.
Portofino was noted several years ago by then-Free Press dining critic Mark Kurlyandchik as one of the “9 definitive Downriver restaurants.”
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress. com. Follow @SusanMarie cooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press. “Portofino has run its course. We kept it open for all these years and right now we feel like we need to take a different direction and either do something with the property or offer the business to another operator.”
Jerry Beasley
Portofino’s managing partner