Anthony Joseph Zerilli - Hazel Park and The Spaghetti Palace

Hazel Park and The Spaghetti Palace

In 1949, Tony became president of the Hazel Park Racing Association and Track in Hazel Park, Michigan. Tony purchased a controlling interest in the operation for $50,000. Over the next twenty-three years, Hazel Park produced an estimated $15,000,000 a year in revenue, netting an annual profit of $1,200,000 for its investors. Although listed as the number one man in the Hazel Park operation, Tony is thought to have deferred to Jack in business dealings. Hazel Park was such a success that in August 1970 Tony, Jack, and Dominic "Fats" Corrado decided to build another race track. The three men invested $2,500,000 in 280 acres (1.1 km2) of land in Hollywood, Florida, for the construction of a second racing complex. However, the second project, to be called Hazel Park South, was cancelled when Tony ran into legal problems in Las Vegas. Tony's legal difficulties not only canceled Hazel Park South, but in 1972 forced him and his partners to sell the original Hazel Park Complex in Michigan. Upon the sale of Hazel Park, Zerilli made $780,000 from his 92,634 shares. Zerilli's profits from Hazel Park allowed him to enter into several other businesses, including the 1968 establishment of the Spaghetti Palace restaurant near the Macomb Mall in Roseville, Michigan. The restaurant quickly became Zerilli's headquarters and remained a staple in Roseville under the direction of Joseph Zerilli, Rosalie Zerilli and Jack Giannosa before closing in the early 1990s.