The Mediterranean Room :: Our Story

• Welcome
• Our Story
• Menu
• Taverna Table
• Wine Room
• Family Room

Our paternal Grandfather, born in 1890 to parents from the proud and great historical region of Sparta, Greece.
Sarantos Backos, our grandfather “Papou” and Zaharoula Flores were married in 1910 in a pre-arranged marriage in Thesaloniki, Greece.  They immigrated to America in 1915 and landed in Portsmouth, Massachusetts. They soon relocated to Detroit, Michigan where the industrial explosion of the automotive business offered huge opportunities … opportunities in the hospitality industry. They had five children … the youngest boy being Ernest … our father .. whom we lovingly referred to as Baba’.

Our maternal grandfather, Manolis Daskalakis, born in 1898 in a small mountainous village of the Akrotiri Peninsula of Crete located on the northern side of the island adjoining the Mediterranean Sea. As a child, he would play in the fields where olive trees abound producing what is now considered to be the finest Olive Oil in the world … the very Extra Virgin Olive Oil that we use in our restaurant today.

At the adventurous age of 16, he left his family and traveled four weeks by boat to America … where he had heard stories of great opportunity. Landing at Ellis Island, New York, and greeting the statue of Liberty, he became one of a great many immigrants who came to this country in search of a better life.

Like many new arrivals to this land of prosperity, he began working in the East Coast Rail Roads. Word quickly spread of the great opportunities in the “Motor City”. He moved to Detroit and began a small business delivering wholesale meats and groceries to Detroit area restaurants and hotels. In the early twenties, his business flourished and he returned once again to his birth land to meet his future wife, our Grandmother, Sidmarlaina Torakis. Joined together for life, in a traditional pre-arranged marriage, they left their homeland to raise their Greek-American family here in Detroit, Michigan.

A company he founded called Detroit Veal & Lamb grew to one of the most respected suppliers of fresh meats and poultry. While he was extremely proud of his company, he was most proud of becoming an American Citizen in 1931. One year later, The Great Depression of 1932 devastated America families. Mediterranean immigrants were accustomed to these hardships and knew that in America things would always get better. Yiaya and Papou would always tell us stories of their favorite president, Franklin D. Roosevelt … and how he saved America.

Then it happened. December 7, 1941 … the day that changed America forever … World War II. Our Grandparents took an active role in supporting America and their native country and US ally Greece. It was during these times that our father firmly established himself in the Bar and Restaurant business. Post war prosperity, marriage, and four children later we come to 1979 and the establishment of Ernie’s King’s Mill in Clinton Township, Michigan … our present location. Ernie Backos constantly changed and up-graded his building. He, along with his four children, established banquet facilities and the first outdoor dining in Macomb County.  We have served this community for nearly 30 years now providing family dining, holiday feasts, weddings, showers, and many other hospitality related events.

Our parents are both gone now and it is in their memory, and the memories of our Grandparents, that we dedicate our return to the “ROOTS” of our proud heritage …

ERNIE’S
“Experience the Mediterranean”