Grosse Pointe restaurateur David Pendy has died

Just weeks after opening a new restaurant in Grosse Pointe Woods, longtime restaurateur David Pendy died suddenly Monday at age 63.

His latest venture with his wife, Susan Pendy, was Pendy’s Grosse Pointe, which opened on Mack last month with steaks, seafood and a classic bar program.

“It is with the heaviest of heart that we share the news of the loss of our dear David Pendy,” reads a Facebook post from the restaurant. “Arrangements are pending … in the meantime wear pink in his honor. As always enjoy life and eat out often. His life and legacy will continue at Pendy’s Grosse Pointe!”

Before Pendy’s Grosse Pointe, Mr. Pendy, a resident of Grosse Pointe, was an owner at the Hill Seafood & Chophouse in the early 2000s. The award-winning restaurant in Grosse Pointe Farms was showered with local accolades. Before that, Pendy was general manager at the Bloomfield Hills Country Club.

At the Hill, Mr. Pendy was known for being a hands-on owner and the restaurant flourished soon after opening. The upscale, neighborhood destination earned rave reviews from Detroit News restaurant critic Jane Rayburn and was named Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press and Hour Magazine.

“It was a Cinderella story,” he told The Detroit News in 2002 after two years of positive buzz for the Hill, which he said they modeled after Joe Muer’s Detroit restaurant. “Everything just came together. It was the right concept in the right market at the right time.”

The cause of death was not immediately known.

According to an obituary posted on Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons website, Mr. Pendy is survived by his wife Susan Petrocy Pendy, children David Kalb, Keeley Thomas, Nick Pendy and Isabelle Pendy and two grandchildren. A funeral mass is being planned and details are pending.