One bite into Emil’s lasagna and you will be joining the long list of regulars at Lansing’s oldest restaurant. The freshly melting cheese drips from your fork as it makes its way into your mouth and a burst of smooth marina sauce, fresh beef, and soft noodles fill your cheeks as you taste a recipe that has traveled from Cosenza, Italy to Lansing, Michigan.
Upon entering from the front of the restaurant or the back toward the bar, red and yellow glass flowered lamps highlight photos of Emil’s history: the founder holding a fish, him posing with customers, parties lining the green booths, and articles celebrating the restaurant’s anniversaries.
Emil’s simultaneously transports your taste buds and heart to Italy, while keeping your feet rooted in Lansing. It is “the anchor of tradition and success in Lansing’s restaurant business,” says President of the Historical Society of Greater Lansing, Valerie Marvin.
“Emil’s is an Eastside institution. The whole block knows about Emil’s and its great spaghetti,” says Executive Director of Allen Neighborhood Center, Joan Nelson.
The legacy of Emil’s began as “Emil’s place” fruit stand in 1921. It was the dream of a young Italian immigrant, Emil DeMarco’s, to own his own business.
After arriving at Ellis Island in 1916 and then working on the railroads in Elkhart Indiana, DeMarco moved to Lansing, Michigan to work for for a plant called Motor Wheel making wooden wheels for trucks and fire engines. Once he saved enough money, DeMarco sent for his wife and seven-year-old daughter, Mary, to join him in Lansing.
Mrs. DeMarco would bring DeMarco sandwiches and pasta for lunch while he worked at the fruit stand and upon a whiff of the food customers wanted to try the home cooked meals. From there, the fruit stand was renovated into a restaurant and those recipes remain as the foundation of this third generation business.
The current Emil’s restauranteur and DeMarco’s grandson, Paul Grescowle, reminisces about his grandfather being awarded the first beer and wine license after prohibition and the expansion of the restaurant to double its size.
“Way back when my uncle and father took over the business, they put in a neon sign with a man holding pasta, but it got thrown away. Imagine how valuable that thing could be now?” says Grescowle.
As Emil’s changed over the years, its customers remained loyal.
“Eighty-five percent of my customers I know by their first name,” says Grescowle. “Our customers are not a number. There’s a full cycle that rotates through this restaurant. Women come here after having their children at Sparrow’s and I get to see these kids as infants. Then, those infants grow and I get to watch them get married and have children of their own.”
In addition to the regular customers, Emil’s as seen some famous faces such as MSU basketball coaches, actor and founder of the Purple Rose Theatre Company, Jeff Daniels, and Al Capone.
“When Al Capone would come in, he really loved Coca-Cola and pasta. He was always very polite, but had to have the same seat in the back against the wall. If people were seated in his spot, my grandfather would offer to buy their meal in exchange for Al Capone to have his usual spot,” says Grescowle.
Emil’s has also contributed and defined the Eastside community outside of restaurant hours.
“It’s not just about being a restaurant benefitting from the community, it’s about giving back to the community too. We do benefits and donate our time and food as well,” says Grescowle. “We donate to the McDonald House and Ele's Place three to four times a month. Sometimes we’ll call and ask when they need food or supplies. Other times, we’ll just surprise them and show up with donations.”
With its legacy firmly rooted in success, the future of Emil’s looks to combine new growth and classic style. Grescowle says he is old school. He likes handwritten checks without a computer system. “That’s the charm of it,” he remarks.
“I can’t wait for what the future will hold though,” he states. “There’s a lot of development happening with shops and condos opening up in Eastside. It looks like there will be a lot of growth in the next three to five years and I’m so excited for this growth. It’s what keeps me up at night.”
“Everything is all about Old Town Lansing and I’m excited to have Eastside be a big name,” Grescowle says with a smile across his face as he looks out the window at East Michigan Avenue.
This is Emil’s. Tradition. Heart. Delicious pasta.
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Mirabeth Braude is an freelance writer for Capital Gains and Michigan State University graduate student in the Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures department.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.