"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." Andy Stylianou said that in a news release quoted by the Detroit Free Press when AP Tommy's opened at 7410 Orchard Lake Road this October.
Stoli's is preparing to open at 6203 Orchard Lake Road, on the south end of West Bloomfield. Its owner, Prime Concepts Detroit, is a West Bloomfield-based hospitality group that already runs Aurora Italiana next door. Both restaurants come from owners who already have a history on Orchard Lake Road, and both have moved into buildings that held other well-known restaurants before them.
The Name Coming Back to 7410
The family behind AP Tommy's has a long history on this road. The restaurant honors the late Athanasios "Tommy" Peristeris, Stylianou's father-in-law and mentor. He came to the United States from Greece in 1971 and spent five decades running Greek restaurants across metro Detroit. He started in Greektown with Old Parthenon and New Parthenon, later ran the Little Daddy's restaurants, and became best known for Big Daddy's on Orchard Lake Road.
Longtime residents may remember Big Daddy's Parthenon as a hockey place. In June 1997, Crain's Detroit Business described the Orchard Lake Road restaurant as a Red Wings hangout, a role it had held for about four years by then. According to the Free Press, the family's Greek cooking was known in this part of the township for three decades.
The new restaurant is close to where Big Daddy's stood, but it is in a different building. The owners renovated a space that once housed a Champps sports bar. The family also did not disappear after Big Daddy's. Stylianou and his wife, Eleni, Peristeris' daughter, own Big Tommy's Parthenon in Novi. Stylianou told the Free Press that many guests from the Orchard Lake Road years kept coming to them there. AP Tommy's brings that following back to West Bloomfield.
The menu carries the family's best-known dishes forward: Tommy's chopped salad, the family's spinach pie and lamb chops. It also offers seafood, steaks, moussaka, grape leaves, chicken and pasta. Stylianou co-owns the restaurant with business partner Paul Russo.
Next Door to Aurora Italiana
Stoli's has a different kind of local history. It is taking over the former Don Juan Mexican Restaurant at 6203 Orchard Lake Road. WhatNow places it in the Orchard Mall Shopping Center, just south of Aurora Italiana, in a building that also holds La Marsa West Bloomfield and Matari Coffee.
The neighbor matters because Prime Concepts already runs it. The group opened its first Aurora Italiana, an Italian restaurant, in September 2023 at 6199 Orchard Lake Road. Stoli's is the same company adding a second restaurant a few doors away. The group's wider portfolio includes Prime29 Steakhouse, NARA Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse, Sexy Steak, Castle Hall in the Grand Army of the Republic Building, Wabeek Club and Tribu Mediterranean, plus two Aurora Italiana locations with a third on the way.
The new restaurant is named for Stolion "Stoli" Liti, the group's managing partner and director of operations. WhatNow reports that he leads Prime Concepts with Joe Barbat. According to the Detroit Free Press report on Stoli's, the scratch-kitchen menu draws on "Italian trattorias, French bistros and Spanish tascas," with dishes such as a creamy carbonara, a mortadella sandwich with mornay sauce, a double smash cheeseburger and halal options. As at the group's other restaurants, the kitchen will use no seed oils and will serve premium meats, organic poultry and grass-fed beef.
As of the Free Press's October 14 update, Stoli's had not announced an opening date. The company had said only that it would open this fall. WhatNow reported that a website and social media pages had not launched yet, and that more information would come in the following weeks.
The Two Openings Side by Side
| AP Tommy's | Stoli's | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 7410 Orchard Lake Road | 6203 Orchard Lake Road |
| Previous tenant | Champps sports bar | Don Juan Mexican Restaurant |
| Owners' local history | Family behind the former Big Daddy's on Orchard Lake Road | Prime Concepts Detroit, operator of Aurora Italiana next door |
| Size | 200 seats, 20-seat bar, private event rooms | About 80 dining seats, bar and lounge, 50-seat seasonal patio |
| Food | Modern and classic Greek | European-inspired comfort food |
| Status | Open | Expected this fall, date not announced |
Built for Return Visits, in Two Different Ways
Each restaurant is designed for the kind of local history behind it. AP Tommy's is built for occasions. It has 200 seats, private event rooms for the birthdays and family dinners that used to fill Big Daddy's, and a 20-seat bar with handcrafted cocktails and a long wine list. Its schedule favors evenings:
- 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 lunch is served for now
The full menu is posted at aptommys.com.
Stoli's is built for weekly visits. Prime Concepts plans pool tables, dart boards, weekly trivia nights and pool leagues. The restaurant is expected to serve lunch and dinner daily, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. In a news release quoted by the Free Press, Liti said the group wants every guest to leave "looking forward to their next visit." Since Aurora Italiana is already next door, the south end of the corridor will soon have one company running two different dining options a few doors apart.
So Orchard Lake Road is gaining a Greek dining room that its earlier regulars can return to, and a casual weeknight spot from the group that already runs the Italian restaurant next door.
Pairing Dinner With the WB Parks November Calendar
West Bloomfield Parks has a full November schedule, and two Saturday events fit easily around AP Tommy's dinner hours. Check each event page for registration details.
- Tuesday, November 3: Heroes Appreciation Breakfast, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
- Saturday, November 7: Pumpkin Playoff: A Family Competition, 1 to 3 p.m. AP Tommy's begins Saturday dinner at 4.
- Saturday, November 14: Mom & Son Carnival Night, 5 to 7 p.m. at Connect Senior Center, 33230 W. 14 Mile Road. WB Parks lists it as a new event this year, and AP Tommy's serves until 11 p.m. on Saturdays.
- Friday, November 20: Harvest Day Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m.
The parks department is also asking residents what to build next. Its Fall 2026 guide lists a survey for the 2027–2031 Master Plan that is open through October 31, 2026. The Parks Commission's next public meetings are October 28 and November 18 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
When Stoli's announces its opening date, Prime Concepts will have two restaurants side by side in the Orchard Mall Shopping Center, and AP Tommy's will be serving the Peristeris family's spinach pie and lamb chops at 7410 Orchard Lake Road.
If you've lived near Orchard Lake Road long enough to remember Big Daddy's, you know how much this stretch has changed. Meredith Colburn and her team follow those changes closely across West Bloomfield. If you're curious what they mean for your own home, we're glad to prepare a free home valuation.
