Bay Pizzeria in Suttons Bay is the newest pizza place in town after Premonitions was sold to Bay Burrito owner Desmond Berry and his business partners in July.
Bay Pizzeria celebrated its grand opening on Monday with free pizza slices. The shop will feature a revamped menu with an emphasis on offering delivery.
Bay Pizzeria will offer two types of crust: traditional and pan.
“We offer two pizzas, a deluxe and a meat lovers. Everything else is build-your-own. You can do a 14- or 16-inch with the traditional or pan crust, and then you can put any toppings you want on it,” Berry said.
Bay Burrito now has a sister store, Bay Pizzeria, just down the street. Berry is excited about the new addition.
The pizzeria will also offer a special menu item called cudighi.
“The cudighi is an Italian sausage from the Upper Peninsula. Italian immigrants in the 1930s developed this sausage, and they made sandwiches out of it. It’s only available in the Upper Peninsula,” Berry said.
Berry, originally from Newberry, wanted to bring this classic to the northwest part of Lower Michigan.
“The cudighi... I grew up with this sandwich. It’s not available anywhere below the bridge. You’ve got to go to the west end of the U.P. to get it,” Berry said.
Bay Pizzeria and Bay Burrito offer a punch card, where customers can earn a free pizza or burrito after 10 punches.
Both Bay Pizzeria and Bay Burrito are family-owned and operated.
Berry also heads 7th Legacy LLC, a firm offering consulting, business development, and economic services to Native American and minority-owned businesses, tribal enterprises, tribal organizations, and various government agencies.
Seth and Jen Friedman sold Bay Burrito to Kristine Ingrao and Desmond Berry in September 2021. Although Berry announced plans to sell the business last September, he later changed his mind.
“We’ve been like family for over 20 years,” Berry said.
Berry’s wife, Anita, helped turn Bay Burrito around this summer, contributing to its successful season. The shop will reopen next year.
“Since this is a family business, that’s where I put my heart and soul. My heart and soul go into everything I do because of our families, and that’s really what it comes down to,” Anita said.
Berry and fellow Freemason Walt Rowen learned about the potential sale of Premonitions, a popular local pizzeria. Rowen is known for his dough and sauce recipes, as well as his investment planning with Berry.
“When Desmond came to me, I was pretty much retired. I just wanted to spend time with family. I didn’t want to go back into the kitchen,” Rowen said. “But I wanted to bring something classic with a unique twist — good ingredients, good technique.”
Bay Pizzeria is keeping its menu simple, with a few salads, calzones, sandwiches, breadsticks, and cheese sticks. They will also experiment with flavored crusts with a local twist, unlike the corporate pizza chains in Traverse City like Domino’s, Little Caesars, and Hungry Howie’s.
“We want people to enjoy their pizza, and we want it to be memorable enough that they come back,” Berry said.
Bay Pizzeria will maintain a popular lunch special from Premonitions, offering $3 twotopping specialty slices of the day. Customers can add a can of pop and a bag of chips for $5.
Bay Burrito has closed for the season, but Bay Pizzeria will remain open year-round.
“We’ve got to make our season in three to four months over there, but we know we’ll be able to go year-round with Bay Pizzeria by offering delivery,” Berry said.
The new pizzeria is just down the road from Roman Wheel.
