Clawson – The dining out experience has drastically changed since COVID -19, but many restaurants have come up with creative solutions to stay open. While safety and health are always of the utmost importance, supporting a local business by enjoying some of their delicious food is a win-win! So I revisited a place I’ve Dined in the D at before to see what’s new at Zeoli’s Modern Italian, a family-owned restaurant in Clawson, with a passion for motorcycles! (See the original story we did on them here.)
The big new thing they have been offering since quarantine started is their big family meal deal. For $50 you get to choose between several scrumptious options to feed a family of 4, always including an appetizer, entree, sides, and dessert. They switch up the menu every week, which you can see on their social sites, so you can always try something new. When I ordered I received tomato bisque soup, bread with dipping oil, a green bean gorgonzola salad, sauteed veggies, a spicy Italian meat pizza, cheese-stuffed ravioli with chicken and Italian sausage, tiramisu, and cannolis. It was all delicious! I wasn’t able to eat it all in one meal, so I warmed it up per the owner’s instructions (reheating the ravioli in a skillet, and warming the pizza up in an oven.) If you don’t want quite that much food, they are still offering almost their entire menu.
You can order online through Grubhub, or, if you’d prefer, you can call the restaurant and place your order that way. In terms of getting the food you have two options. Option 1, go inside the restaurant to pick up your food. They only allow 5 people in at a time and request everyone wears their face mask. if you love motorcycles this may be the option for you because they have a Ducati behind the bar, and it is pretty cool to see in person. The other option is to do curbside pickup. You just need to let them know what your car looks like and how you would like them to drop it off.
A lot has changed in their restaurant since the pandemic started. Owner Scott Brown said he bought up a lot of carry-out containers, reconfigured his cooking line to make it adhere to social distancing best practices, and completely emptied his dining room to make cleaning and sanitizing everything easier. One positive thing that has come out of this is the attitude he has adopted to cope with all the change. This whole thing has brought his staff, his family, and his community closer.
“The support has been overwhelming and, from time to time, it gets a little emotional you know. We’re all in this together and we’ll come out of it stronger for it, ” said Brown.
Zeoli’s Modern Italian is located at 110 E. 14 Mile Rd in downtown Clawson. Their number is (248) 397-8050.