New Piazzano’s owners focus on continuity, with minimal changes

For the better part of two decades, Paul Brown was a regular at Piazzano’s. Now, he and his brother, Michael Jewell, are running the beloved northside restaurant.

“I didn’t want it to change,” Brown said.

The former owner, Jim Farhat, had been operating the restaurant for nearly 30 years. He wanted to retire, but he also wanted the restaurant he had built — and the community that had evolved alongside it — to persist.

“We had people coming through to look, like a marijuana business, some barbecue restaurants, different things that were gonna change the way things went,” Farhat said. “I wanted to keep everything the same.”

Brown said the 2021 closure of DeLuca’s Restaurant, an iconic Lansing pizzeria, inspired him to take the leap.

“I didn’t necessarily want to get into the restaurant business, but this is something that needed to stick around,” he said. “And after watching what happened to DeLuca’s, this was really the only way it was gonna happen.”

Brown and Jewell plan to expand the restaurant’s hours, switching to a limited menu after 8:30 p.m. but staying open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends.

They’ve also remodeled the bar area, adding five TVs while carefully toeing the line between a family-friendly spot and a late-night hangout.

“It was really important to Jim that this stayed a family atmosphere,” Brown said. “So, we had to find a way to do it and be smooth about it so that we’re not inviting a bunch of people who are gonna come in here and drink a ton, but at the same time, if you want to watch a game, we’re able to do that.”

Those changes aside, Piazzano’s is still Piazzano’s. The recipes are the same.

Brown said he’s been stunned to see the new ownership bring revitalized support to the business, with many customers coming in for the first time.

“I’m getting anywhere from two to as many as seven tables a night, just about every night, saying they’ve never been in here before, and they’ve lived in Lansing almost their whole lives,” Brown said. “We’re overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve gotten from the community. I don’t think I could have asked for anything better, quite honestly.”

Thanks to the restaurant’s staff and Farhat’s mentorship, the transition has been smooth, but Brown said he’s been learning on the job.

“If you’re an outsider looking in, it looks like we know what we were doing. Being inside, I’m learning a lot every day,” he said.

Like the Farhats, the new owners’ families are also involved with the business.

“My brother and I, his fiancée and kids and my daughter are all helping out here,” Brown said. “We’re trying to keep this a family-owned business.”

Keeping things consistent is why they bought the place, after all.

“We’ve made just a few changes because trying to keep the integrity of the place and just the vibe that’s in here is something that’s important to me,” Brown said. “Otherwise, there was no reason for us to do this.”