The Ardmore Café 

The house and property has had four owners and a very colorful past. Frederick and Sophia Schroeder emigrated from Mecklenburg, Germany in the early 1850s and bought 80 acres of land on Two-Cow Path (Little Mack Avenue), between Labadie Road (10 Mile Road) and Town Hall Road (11 Mile Road), in Erin Township, Macomb County, Michigan, which today is St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

The family raised twelve children in the original log cabin that they build in the mid-1850s. In the 1870s the cabin was replaced with one of the first brick, Victorian-style houses in the area. Frederick built his home to last, using 300,000 bricks in its construction. The basement walls are two feet thick with the interior walls of the three story house also built of brick, every fifth row of bricks turned on its end. 

Frederick passed away on April 16, 1895. His wife Sophia inherited the house and farmland where she and her family lived until the 1920s. Sophia moved with her family to a smaller house and rented the property to Renny Tesoriere, who established Renny's Lodge, a place where patrons could dine on roadhouse meals for fifty cents and dance to the Big Band sound. In 1937 a large cinder block ballroom was added to the house on the side where the shops are located. In 1942 the Schroeders sold the house and land to Renny Tesoriere.

During the Prohibition Era, the house was a gambling house, blind pig, and bordello with secret passwords required for entry. Once inside, patrons enjoyed music and table dancers and could purchase bottled beer for five cents. The second and third floor were reserved for the professional ladies of the night. The house had hidden passageways which led patrons, if needed, to the woods behind the house.

E.C. White, who founded Gardner-White Furniture Company, purchased the building in 1953 for his daughter Ruth and her husband Danny DiSanti as a wedding present. It remained E.C. White's Furniture Store until the early 1980s. The DiSantis sold the property to Ray Domke and Larry Berdasono in 1986. With the help of family and friends, Ray and Larry spent the first year renovating the home to its original Victorian Era. They opened the new business as Victoria Place House of Shoppes, which featured several boutiques and an intimate small café. It remained Victoria Place until the year 2000.

The house went through many changes until 2008, when Ray and Larry decided to reopen the building as Ardmore Park Place. Today it is one of St. Clair Shores' most prestigious, historical landmarks. On October 27, 2012, the City of St. Clair Shores declared the house an official historical building, awarding it with a brass plaque which is located on the front of the building. 

We are happy to share the history of our building with our patrons and wish to thank you for helping us make Ardmore Park Place what it is today!