Riverview Business Thriving Among the Land Preserve

Don't let the flocks of scavenging seagulls nearby fool you -- Carlo and Joe's has top-quality food made fresh to order.

The benefit to having a deli and bakery so close to the Riverview Land Preserve is the steady stream of city employees that come for lunch and dinner -- from both Trenton and Riverview.

"I don't think it hurts us," Geri Norris said. "We hardly smell anything."

Carlo and Joe's Deli and Bakery, 15520 King Road, was opened by owners Carlo and Joe Evola in 2007. The store is located in a shopping center near the corner of King Road and Grange Road in Riverview.

Customers visit the deli for fresh meats to take home for dinner or to eat right on the spot. Norris, Carlo's sister, said she makes sandwiches out of deli meat, fresh to order and without a menu.

"I can make a sandwich out of pretty much anything," Norris said.

Trenton resident Greg McPartlin said he has five children and prefers to shop at Carlo and Joe's because he can get large amounts of chicken and beef at a great price.

"And it's really close by," McPartlin said.

Norris said people come from as far away as Ann Arbor for the food at Carlo and Joe's. A Trenton-Grosse Ile Patch reader named the store a small business he could not live without.

The most popular items in the store are Carlo's homemade Italian sausages and chicken and feta cheese sausages. Customers also enjoy the Chicago sausages and the herb chicken sticks, which is seasoned chicken on a stick.

On the bakery side of the store, the most popular dessert are the homemade cannoli that come in a variety of flavors including cherry, apple, raspberry and custard.

"Our cannoli are very famous," employee Caitlin Attard said. "People come in just for the cannoli."

Norris also boasts Carlo and Joe's has begun making hot food available for dinner, is available for catering and has an impressive wine selection -- including over 75 wines made in Michigan.

Carlo and Joe's is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Call 734-479-4605 for more information.