Big Boy Restaurant Group LLC confirmed Thursday that it plans to go ahead with building a new location on the site of the former Pasquale’s Restaurant property in Royal Oak.

Major demolition on the building at 31555 Woodward Ave. north of 13 Mile Road started Monday, nearly five years after the family-owned Pasquale’s shuttered for good following 65 years of slinging pizza, pasta and salads to Oakland County residents and others.

“Our first priority was demolition of the site and with that complete we are working to finalize our plans for both the Big Boy building and the full development of the lot,” said Frank Alessandrini, vice president of operations for Big Boy Restaurant Group.

The restaurant is expected to have nearly 120 seats with a wait staff and a buffet. Alessandrini said beer and wine service are planned, as well as a pick-up window or drive-through service.

It’s not clear when construction would start or when the restaurant would open. Development cost and contractors are also not known. 

Tamer Afr, CEO of Southfield-based Big Boy Restaurant Group, referred to the planned Royal Oak location as “a new flagship store for our iconic brand on this great site with excellent history.”

Afr said the company expects “the Royal Oak location to be among the strongest stores in the company.”

The company recently opened restaurants in Fraser and Plymouth Township, Alessandrini and Afr said in emails. 

The Royal Oak Planning Commission signed off in June 2021 on a plan that would include a new Big Boy with a drive-through clocking in at about 4,500 square feet, plus a new retail building totaling 5,800 square feet on the site. 

However, the Planning Department hadn’t heard from the applicant in more than a year, and it wasn’t clear earlier this week whether plans for the property had changed in the meantime. 

Crain’s reported in August 2019 that Big Boy Restaurant Group signed a 50-year ground lease for the site, which is more than an acre. The DelGiudice family continues to own the property, which they announced the pending closure of in October 2018. 

Co-owner Michael DelGiudice said in a news release ahead of the spring 2019 closing that they had been “slowing down naturally for the last few years, and after discussing this internally we believe the timing is right.”

The demolition contractor is Farmington Hills-based BD & E Group LLC, according to Royal Oak online records.