Berkley Woman Hopes to be First in Line to Sample Vinsetta Garage When it Opens to the Public

Anticipation is swirling for the opening of Vinsetta Garage restaurant in Berkley, .

The converted auto repair shop embodies a Woodward Avenue history with a promise of spectacular menu items that Chef Aaron Cozadd is known to be a master of at Clarkston Union and Union Woodshop.

These two things, combined with the suspense of the mystery opening, make for the perfect recipe of anticipation.

Just ask Betsy Saunders of Berkley.

She just might be one of the city’s most passionate foodies and makes it a point to scope out new restaurants around town.

“I’ve been watching and watching to see when it will open. Each day I go by and watch it come together,” Saunders, 64, explained. “I’m quite excited at how it’s coming together, though I’ve only been able to see it from the outside. It builds up the anticipation to actually go there, to see what the food is like, what the interior looks like and what the people who work there are like.”

For the latest grand openings and even new restaurant feature’s in town like live entertainment and new outdoor patio area, Saunders is the gal to know. She has what she calls a “Mystery Trip” club, where she’ll call up her friends and neighbors and tell them simply, “Mystery Trip. Pass or play?” she said.

“Play” seems like the best bet with Saunders because she’s got her finger on the pulse of all things dining around Berkley, and even Metro Detroit. She was first in line at , she said, and landed that spot by her proven method: driving by to check out the scene regularly.

At Vinsetta Garage, she said it’s been a fascinating process to witness first hand, even taking her down memory lane at times.

“The one thing that really caught my eye was, in the window, they have these little orange balls that have ‘76’ written on them,” she said. “The gas station (76) used to give those out to customers and everyone would put them on their car antennas. When you were looking for a car, you looked for the orange ball.”

Saunders said it’s ways like that that she believes Vinsetta Garage is keeping the true character of the original establishment.

“I don’t think they changed too much. I think it’s just perfect.”