Welcome in the Spring with The Ardmore Cafe!!
We appreciate your continued patronage in 2023!! We will continue to be open until the building sells, and are still available for private parties.
Call today to make lunch and dinner reservations or to book a baby shower, bridal shower, book club, or other event with us!
(586) 443-4597
We will honor all parties that have been booked, even if the building sells before your event.
We will still be here to take care of you.
Our Regular Hours:
Lunch is served Wednesday - Saturday from 11am-2:30pm
Dinner is served Thursday - Saturday from 5pm-8pm
Reservations are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for both lunch and dinner
Please Call us at (586) 443-4597
A Prestigious Historical St. Clair Shores Landmark
A Prestigious Historical St. Clair Shores Landmark
The History of Ardmore Park Place
The house and property has had four owners and a very colorful past. Frederick and Sophia Shroeder emigrated from Mecklenburg, Germany, in the early 1850's and bought 80-acres of land on Two-Cow Path (Little Mack Avenue), between Labadie Road (10 Mile Road), and Town Hall Road (11 Mile Road), in Erin Township, Macomb County, Michigan; which today is St. Clair Shores, Michigan.
The family raised 12 children in the original log cabin they built in the mid-1850's. In the 1870's the cabin was replaced with one of the first brick, Victorian-style homes in the area. Frederick built his home to last using 300,000 bricks in its construction. The basement walls are two feet thick with the interior walls of the three-story house also built of brick, every fifth row of bricks turned on end.
The family raised 12 children in the original log cabin they built in the mid-1850's. In the 1870's the cabin was replaced with one of the first brick, Victorian-style homes in the area. Frederick built his home to last using 300,000 bricks in its construction. The basement walls are two feet thick with the interior walls of the three-story house also built of brick, every fifth row of bricks turned on end.
Frederick passed away on April 16, 1895. His wife Sophia inherited the house and farmland, where she and her family lived until the 1920's. Sophia moved with her family to a smaller house and rented the property to Renny Tesoriere who established Renny's Lodge; a place where patrons could dine on roadhouse meals for fifty cents and dance to the big band sound. In 1937 a large cinder block ballroom was added to the house on the side where the shops are now located. In 1942, the Schroeder's sold the house and land to Renny Tesoriere.
During the prohibition era the house was a gambling house - blind pig and bordello, with secret passwords required for entry. Once inside, patrons enjoyed music, table dancers, and could purchase bottled beer for five cents. The second and third floors were reserved for the professional ladies of the night. The house had hidden passageways which lead patrons - if needed - to the woods behind the house.
E.C. White, who founded Gardener-White Furniture Company, purchased the building in 1953 for his daughter Ruth and her husband Danny DiSanti as a wedding present. It remained E.C. White's furniture store until the early 1980's. The DiSanti's sold the property to Ray Domke and Larry Berdasono in 1986. With the help of family and friends, Ray and Larry spent the first year renovating the home to its original Victorian Era state. They opened the new business as Victoria Place House of Shoppes, featuring several boutiques and an intimate cafe. It remained Victoria Place until the year 2000.
The house went through many changes until 2008, when Ray and Larry reopened the building as Ardmore Park Place. Today it is one of St. Clair Shores' most prestigious historical landmarks. On October 27, 2012, the city of St. Clair Shores declared the house an official historical building, awarding it with a brass plaque which is located on the front of the building.
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We are pleased to share the history of our building with our patrons, and wish to thank you for helping us make Ardmore Park Place what it is today.
