BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Staff Writer

Crispelli’s Bakery and Pizzeria is coming to Clarkston.
The Independence Township Board of Trustees formally approved the restaurant coming to the Clarkston Dix Plaza at the corner of Dixie Highway and M-15 at the regular meeting, April 23.
“Three years ago, we approached Clarkston, and couldn’t find a location,” said Crispelli’s part owner Glen Willson. “We really like the area, a great location. Little busy down there, but this is our wheel house. Six years ago, my brother-in-law and I were sitting in a little pub down in Commerce and were talking about developing a pizza place unlike what you normally see. This area is engulfed with the Little Caesar’s and Domino’s, and it just doesn’t have good pizza.”
Willson said there are plans for more Crispelli’s, but the Clarkson one is “a key model that we’re going to focus on. We’re happy to be in Clarkston.”
This will be the restaurant’s fourth location in Michigan (West Bloomfield, Troy, Berkley), and it will join T-Mobile, Great Clips and Jersey Mike’s at the Shoppes of Clarkston.
“Have you ever been to a Crispelli’s restaurant?” asked Willson. “They’re too far away. That’s why we’re here. Crispelli’s has great pizza, great salads. We don’t have freezers and we don’t have fryers. We’re taking a nicely-built building and turning it into a great place to have dinner. The hours are great; this is not a night club. This will be a full-service restaurant with a proven menu.”
Approval was also secured at the meeting for a Class C liquor license for Crispelli’s.
“I’ve never been to a Crispelli’s, and I’d actually never heard of it until a couple months ago when a friend of mine down in Franklin said, ‘You guys are getting a Crispelli’s,’” said Township Treasurer Paul Brown. “He was excited, and so I talked to a few of my friends who are foodies and told them and they said, ‘Really?’ They’re excited that you are coming, and they have eaten at your place.”
Crispelli’s has been in business since 2012. A timeline was not mentioned at the meeting as to when the Clarkston location will open as no permits had been pulled.
The corner was previously a BP gas station until 2009, when it closed. Redevelopment of the property included cleanup of contaminated soil and construction of the new building.