Village's Clairpointe restaurant
gets new owners, new name

Clairpointe restaurant, which had been on the market for more than two years, has new owners. Meaghan Spicer, former owner of the Mack Avenue Diner, and Sheila Taylor bought the restaurant and have been at the helm for almost a week.
With a nod to the establishment''s location on St. Clair south of Kercheval, they plan to change the name to the Side Street Diner and are working on a number of improvements. But the new owners are committed to keeping its present customer base and many of the menu's favorites. "We are making some changes to the menu," Spicer said."Each day we put a special on the board from my old recipes from the original Mack Avenue Diner. We'll make more changes, but if someone still wants a half order of eggs benedict, I'll make it for them. We want to keep the present customers, but we do want to attract new ones."
The women, who are cousins, are seasoned in the restaurant business. Spicer opened Megan's on Mack in the Woods after she sold Mack Avenue Diner, but retired five years ago. Taylor worked at Mack Avenue Diner until recently when the restaurant was sold and the staff was let go. That sale fell through, but Taylor chose not to go back when the staff was recalled. Instead, she convinced her cousin that they should buy a restaurant together.
"I wouldn't do this with anyone else," Spicer said. "We wanted to stay in Grosse Pointe, looked around and found Clairpointe. We want to turn it into a diner, but not a cutsy one. We want to contribute to the neighborhood and blend into the community."
Physical renovations also are planned. "We are going to cut down the wall and put in a counter," Spicer said, "But our first changes will be to renovate the bathrooms and the front entry."
 
Spicer is quick to add that that the changes will come slowly. "It's like raising a new child," she said, "You have to take one baby step at a time."

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