Seventy years of square pizza and the sandwich they called the Torpedo.
Paul A. Buscemi brought home an idea from the East Coast. In 1955 he bought a small party store on Gratiot Avenue, and by 1956 he was handing square pizza and Italian subs over the counter. Metro Detroit has never eaten the same since.
The Story
How it happened
1955
Paul A. Buscemi buys a small party store on Gratiot Avenue in East Detroit, the city known today as Eastpointe.
1956
Buscemi's starts selling square pizza by the slice, an American take on the Sicilian sfincione that Detroit now claims as its own. With the high school across the street, a slice of Buscemi's became lunch for a generation of students.
The Torpedo
Paul builds his own version of the Italian submarine sandwich he first saw out East and names it the Torpedo. The family credits him with introducing the sub to the Detroit area, and the sandwich still carries his recipe.
The Party Shoppe
Pizza and subs on one side, cold beer, wine, and ice on the other. Paul pioneered the Michigan party store, and in the 1970s the family began sharing the concept across metro Detroit.
Hall Road
The Original Buscemi's in Utica keeps the tradition whole: the Torpedo, the square pizza, and a full Party Shoppe under one roof at 8315 Hall Rd.
2026
Seventy years after that first square slice, the ovens are still on. Three generations of the family have kept the recipes exactly where Paul left them.
One Roof
Pizza on one side, the party on the other
The party store that feeds the party
The idea was simple and nobody had done it: bake the pizza and build the subs in the same store that keeps the beer cold. Seventy years later it is still the smartest stop in town, and it is how every gathering in Utica starts.
The Buscemi family credits founder Paul A. Buscemi, who brought his own version of the East Coast Italian submarine sandwich to the Detroit area in the 1950s and named it the Torpedo. It has been on the menu ever since.
What makes square pizza Detroit style?
The dough proofs in a steel pan, the cheese runs all the way to the edges so it caramelizes against the sides, and the sauce goes on top. Crispy corners, airy center, cut in squares.
Why is it called a Party Shoppe?
Because one stop covers the whole party. A Party Shoppe bakes pizza and builds subs on one side and stocks cold beer, wine, liquor, and ice on the other. Buscemi's pioneered the concept in Michigan.
Is this the same Buscemi's?
Yes. The Original Buscemi's at 8315 Hall Rd in Utica serves the same Torpedo and the same square pizza that started the story in 1956, made fresh in our own kitchen every day.
Seventy Years In
Taste the history.
The Torpedo and the square pizza are not museum pieces. They are on the menu right now, a few minutes off M-59.
