Monroe County History: Grocery business started by Serbian immigrants still going strong

Tom Adamich
·3 min read
This photo shows Mike Vuich Sr. and an early photo of Danny’s Fine Foods, circa 1940s. Vuich began working in Monroe’s local grocery business shortly after emigrating from Serbia in 1913 and started his own store on West Elm Avenue in 1941.
This photo shows Mike Vuich Sr. and an early photo of Danny’s Fine Foods, circa 1940s. Vuich began working in Monroe’s local grocery business shortly after emigrating from Serbia in 1913 and started his own store on West Elm Avenue in 1941.

In the past, I have written about the Cole Road Gang and Micka’s Meats. As I talked more with Dick Micka about his family’s history in the neighborhood, I made connections to my own history and my positive relationship with Monroe.

It was starting in the late 1980s that my family attended Serbian “Krsna Slava” celebrations (honoring the family’s patron saint) at St. George’s Serbian Orthodox Church on North Monroe Street. Our dear family friends, Walter and Dot Penovich and their family lived in East Toledo near Tony Packo's and Toledo Edison. Every year, we made the trek from south of Cleveland to Toledo and then to Monroe to attend the slava.

This is an image of recent Danny’s Fine Foods advertising. Danny’s is still locally-owned by the Vuich family and operates two locations in Monroe.
This is an image of recent Danny’s Fine Foods advertising. Danny’s is still locally-owned by the Vuich family and operates two locations in Monroe.

…Little did I know that 30 years later, I would work at MCCC and live near St. George’s and Cole Road/Micka’s Meats on Arbor Avenue. Charles Micka’s store later became Danny’s II. The rich history of the Vuich family – Danny’s owners – and their business success also provides a window into the Slavic cultural heritage which I share with the Vuich family (my grandfather emigrated to Northeast Ohio from Slovenia, Yugoslavia, to the U.S. in the 1910s).

Mike Vuich Sr. was born in Bodegraj, Yugoslavia, on July 30, 1894. Like my grandfather, Mike Vuich Sr. emigrated to the U.S. in 1913 – settling in Monroe and living as a boarder with a fellow Serbian couple, Stanley and Sadie Melich, and two other boarders. Mike Vuich Sr. then married Millie Kanights and lived at 401 Conant Ave. in Monroe along with his growing family (sons Danny Sr., Michael and Peter and daughter Sophie). Mike Vuich Sr. then began working in the local grocery business in Monroe at the Eastside & West Elm Grocery until 1941. It was then that he started his own store on West Elm Avenue – what would eventually become the flagship Danny’s.

This is a photo of Danny’s II at 199 Cole Road in Monroe. Charles Micka started Micka’s Meats at the location in 1937, and son Tom Micka sold the building (built in the 1950s) to Danny Vuich Sr. in 1983.
This is a photo of Danny’s II at 199 Cole Road in Monroe. Charles Micka started Micka’s Meats at the location in 1937, and son Tom Micka sold the building (built in the 1950s) to Danny Vuich Sr. in 1983.

Danny Vuich Sr., born in 1926, would join his dad in the grocery business, renaming it Danny’s Fine Foods when he took over for his dad (Mike Vuich Sr. died in 1973). Danny’s continues to be the consummate neighborhood grocer. According to the Danny’s Fine Foods history page, “He was a hands-on guy who worked many hours facing shelves, cutting meat, unloading trucks and getting dirty. Danny Vuich Sr. loved every minute of it. You could see it in his eyes and especially in his smile.”

Also like his dad, Danny Vuich Sr. married and started a family. He married Lucille Angela Leonard – said by many to be the love of his life – in 1951. The couple raised four children – Dianna Vuich, Kellie Vuich, Danny Vuich Jr. and Karen Vuich Bellino. Danny Vuich Sr. added the Cole Road location when Tom Micka retired in 1983 and sold the location. Lucille was joined by the children in operating Danny’s when Danny Vuich Sr. died in 1998. Daughter Kellie Vuich operated Danny’s Frozen Custard – now named Lucy’s Frozen Custard and operated by family members Taylor and Griffin Vuich.

Lucy’s Frozen Custard owners Griffin and Taylor Vuich are the next generation of the Vuich family to serve Monroe’s sweet treat and food needs. They wisely chose to rename Danny’s Frozen Custard in honor of family matriarch Lucille Vuich, who died April 17, 2021 at age 90.
Lucy’s Frozen Custard owners Griffin and Taylor Vuich are the next generation of the Vuich family to serve Monroe’s sweet treat and food needs. They wisely chose to rename Danny’s Frozen Custard in honor of family matriarch Lucille Vuich, who died April 17, 2021 at age 90.

Danny’s continues to be noted for its fine meats and specialty items. I had the privilege of walking to Danny’s II to buy fresh beef, pork, and poultry – which I often would take back to my family in Ohio to enjoy. Its catering services continue to be popular with local families and organizations.

Today, Danny’s Fine Foods employs 40 full- and part-time staff and is one of the few remaining independent grocers in Southeast Michigan. Danny Vuich Jr. and Karen Vuich Bellino continue to lead the business forward. Lucille Vuich died on April 17, 2021, at age 90. She remained active in the store operations and local civic/church organizations.

Tom Adamich is president of Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is project archivist for the Greening Nursery Co. and Family Archives and the electric vehicle awareness coordinator at Monroe County Community College.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County History: Danny's Grocery started by Serbian immigrants