All signs point to Green Lantern Pizza — the eatery that makes every “best pizza” list in the Metro Detroit area, and calls itself the King of Pepperoni — getting ready to open its first Livingston County location at 9912 E. Grand River Ave., in the Grand Crossing plaza on the east side of Brighton, near the Grand Traverse Pie Company.
The popular pizzeria has an interesting origin story: It began when Thomas and Irene Vettraino bought an old farmhouse at the corner of John R. and 12 Mile roads in Madison Heights in 1946 and opened the Green Lantern Tavern, which then became Green Lantern Pizza in 1955. The Vettrainos named the business after the farmhouse’s green lantern, a holdover from the Prohibition era that supposedly signaled to passersby that there was alcohol available for purchase.
The original pizzeria in Madison Heights has grown to include locations in Bloomfield Hills, Clinton Township, Livonia, Macomb, Madison Heights, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Shelby Township, Southfield, Troy, Warren, and Waterford Township.
So, how popular is Green Lantern Pizza?
After then-candidate and former President Donald Trump spoke at the National Guard Association conference in Detroit on Aug. 26, he visited his campaign office in Roseville, but not before stopping at Green Lantern to get pizzas for all the volunteers working on his behalf.
Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports (and a U-M grad) — the man the New York Times calls “one of the most influential people in the world of food social media,” with the ability to “change the fate of a pizzeria with a single utterance” — included Green Lantern on his list of 25 best pizza places in Michigan.
Green Lantern’s menu features pizzas, submarine sandwiches, salads, appetizers and side dishes.
While the sign is up on the building, there’s no information currently available on when the pizzeria will open. You can check out Green Lantern Pizza’s website, which includes its menu, by clicking here.
