“Thirty years in the restaurant business? It’s like dog years,” says Curt Catallo.

For the co-owner of Union Joints — the restaurant group that counts among its stable Clarkston Union, Vinsetta Garage, Mom’s Spaghetti (in partnership with Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg), Lincoln Yard,  and nine other restaurants — this year marks a significant milestone: three profitable decades in the business.

In the restaurant industry, Catallo insists, that longevity is even harder to come by than elsewhere. Between the 2008 recession, enduring strains on the auto industry, COVID-19, and any number of other hurdles, the current anniversary feels less like the company’s 30th and more like its 210th.

But Catallo and co-founder Ann Stevenson (who also happens to be his wife) have become widely known for more than the comfort food they dish up throughout the metro area — particularly the mac and cheese once featured on an episode of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

“I like to say that part of our purpose is repurposing,” says Catallo, who also founded the ad agency Union AdWorks..

The duo have staked their reputation on revitalizing spaces originally intended for other purposes: The first restaurant they opened, Clarkston Union, was once a church, its old pews still used to seat diners; Lincoln Yard in Birmingham was once a garage for old school buses; and Union Rec on South Main Street in Ann Arbor was once home to Fingerle Lumber. 

“You’re taking something meant for one purpose and you’re asking it to breathe in a completely different way,” says Stevenson, an interior designer and the founder of Ann Stevenson Studio. “That doesn’t come easily, or inexpensively, because our job is to honor these buildings — not whitewash them into something that strips them of their glory.”

For both Stevenson and Catallo, “this effort has been central to the company’s mission — and while it has certainly been a significant risk, it has also been central to their success. 

“We took the longest route in every way, shape, or form committing to buildings that we have a passion for … instead of [to] a strip mall in a white box,” Stevenson says.

While the latter choice might have been “wiser” as a simple business decision, she adds, it also would have been “much less intriguing for us.” Still, Catallo insists, “Out of everything, what we’re most proud of is that we have so many people that have been with us [for] the full journey.” 

For example, chef Vince Baker was first hired in the fall of 1998. He started out washing dishes as a sophomore in high school, then went on to do “just about everything you can think of in the kitchen.” Now, he directs back-of-house operations for all the restaurants under the Union umbrella. 

For Baker, the company’s mission is one of authenticity: “We want our carne asada taco to taste like a carne asada taco that you would get from a vendor in Mexico City,” he says.

Or, as Catallo says: “It’s food that’s honest and broad-shouldered, and it’s not hiding beneath something delicate.”

In that sense, at least, Catallo and Stevenson aren’t planning to make any major changes anytime soon. Catallo says, “People are looking for something familiar and surprising at the same time. That’s what we always try to deliver.”

This story originally appeared in the September 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.