Anthony Coratti (left) with uncle Pete Coratti and cousin Peter Pfeffer. They built out the second floor with a lounge-like bar, two private dining rooms, and bocce arena. | Photo by J. Adrian Wylie
It took over a year longer than expected, but the transformation of the venerable Original Cottage Inn into another family-owned Italian restaurant is nearing its big reveal on E. William.
Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce will open in early June in a vintage building in which most everything has been updated.
Related: Last Call at the Cottage Inn
“The science is inexact when it comes to renovations, especially old buildings,” says Anthony Coratti, who’s teaming up with uncle Pete Coratti and cousin Peter Pfeffer for their second location. They opened a similar concept in Howell in 2021 but put an East Lansing outpost on hold while they pursued the Ann Arbor opportunity.
Though Anthony calls the decision a “no brainer,” Cottage Inn was “here seventy-five years, so we had seventy-five years of things to redo, and once we started uncovering things, everything became a big process.” Electrical, plumbing, ventilation, and flooring systems were replaced, and an elevator is back in service.
While paying homage to the institution they’re succeeding, the Corattis are eager to introduce a refreshed, playful gathering space they hope appeals to all ages and budgets.
Several bicycles hang from the ceiling above the front staircase. It leads to a lounge-like central bar area, two dining rooms for private parties, and under the skylights, a barstool-lined bocce arena with two sixty-foot courts rentable by the hour.
Pfeffer learned about the Italian lawn game while working in California, and they liked that it’s a low-key activity suitable for all ages, for team-building events, and possibly leagues. Parties of two to eight players score points by rolling softball-sized balls down the artificial turf court, aiming to be closest to the smaller white ball that’s thrown at the outset.
The restaurant’s main level features a barroom with a view of the dual ovens used for pizza and the Neapolitan bread baked throughout the day. Some two dozen beers are on draft, with an emphasis on Michigan-made craft varieties. Cocktails, cordials, and a long list of wines are also available.
The main dining room sports more tables than booths in a somewhat whimsical setting. (Among the wall art: Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring holding a pizza slice.)
But the Corattis take their food seriously. Pete, who also co-owns a more elegant Italian restaurant in Milford with his sister, Peter’s mom, touts their scratch-made pasta, breads, sauces, and gelato.
Pete and Peter travelled to Naples to learn the art of pizza and to Bologna for lessons in gelato—they’ll have a dozen varieties. They’re also making panuozzo, large sandwiches wood-fired both before and after being stuffed with various meats, cheeses, and vegetables.
Three pizza styles are on offer: traditional American, Detroit-style deep-dish, and Neapolitan, cooked at 800 degrees for ninety seconds to give its thin, sweeter dough a characteristic char.
This casual fare, along with a long list of salads and shareable appetizers, complements such higher-end options as New York strip steak, salmon, and cannelloni.
Vegetarian and gluten-free choices are labeled on the menu, and nondairy cheese is an option.
While a date night tab could top $100 with drinks, Pete says “two college kids can come in, split a pizza, drink water, and get out of here for fifteen bucks. You can’t eat at McDonald’s for that!”
One key element they don’t have in Howell is Pietro’s, the connected carry-out with a separate entrance, where the gelato case resides. Ready-to-eat foods such as pepperoni bread and berry salad make for handy, affordable lunches, while housemade pasta, bread, sauces, and grocery items provide the ingredients for meals at home.
At the outset, the building’s basement space will be used only for its restrooms. They expect to be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, though exact hours hadn’t been finalized at press time.
Coratti’s Pizzeria Bar and Bocce, 512 E. William. Opening early June, hours TBA. corattispizzeria.com/ann-arbor
Got a retail or restaurant change? Email [email protected]