Preparing tasty dishes from
scratch that put a smile of the faces of his customers has long driven George
Subu.
“I have a passion for the restaurant business,” Subu
said. “I love it when customers tell me they really enjoyed a meal we made for
them.”
Subu, working with this three sons, have produced many
satisfying dishes and social gatherings for a decade at G. Subu’s Leather
Bottle, a 7,800-square-foot restaurant with a banquet room located on
Farmington Road, just south of Eight Mile Road. The Livonia restaurant is known
for its fresh variety of lunch and dinner meals, headlined by its signature
dish: Filet Mignon with Zip Sauce.
Working with his sons at The Leather Bottle is the latest
entrepreneurial chapter for Subu, an immigrant from Eastern Europe who grew up
working in his parents’ pizzerias and arcades.
Subu has been cooking meals since the 1970s when we
worked at fine Dearborn establishments such as the Hyatt Regency, The
Chambertin, and Dearborn Inn. He became partner and chef in 1981 when he began
working at the Topper Restaurant in Dearborn.
In 1999, Subu and his oldest son, Johnny, came to Livonia
and operated the former Sandtraps Restaurant on Five Mile Road (now known as
One-Under). They were bought out in 2003, which left them looking for a new
home.
“We wanted to stay in Livonia,” Johnny Subu said. “We
knew a lot of people liked us at Sandtraps, and we felt they would follow us to
a new place in Livonia.”
They found an opportunity when the Leather Bottle site, a
restaurant originally built in 1979, became available for sale. George, and
sons Johnny, Georgie, and Michael took over in May 2004, and rebranded the
place: G. Subu’s Leather Bottle.
“This worked out for us because we were able to combine
our known reputation for good food and service with the Leather Bottle, which
has been known for years in Livonia,” Johnny Subu said.
The family’s philosophy has been to provide “comfortable
cuisine,” which Johnny Subu describes as “upper-hand food with lower-hand
pricing.” He added all meals are homemade and free of processed products.
“We always believed if we have good, quality food and
service, they will come,” he said.
David Smith has been a loyal customer for 25 years. He
started enjoying George Subu’s cooking at the Topper in Dearborn. The one-time
Livonia resident now lives in Brighton, but he remains a regular at G. Subu’s
Leather Bottle.
“It is the best food in town because it is of good
quality – and it is noticeable,” Smith said. “The great people and the
camaraderie here is a plus.”
To celebrate the restaurant’s 10-year anniversary,
customers can enjoy a bottle of wine each Monday evening this summer for $10.
The Subus will formally celebrate the anniversary with a special buffet and
other goodies during a customer appreciation dinner on Monday, Aug. 18 from 5-8
p.m. For details, call the restaurant at 248.474.2420.
