After hearing about him for the past few years, I finally got to meet Mario Tabone, owner of Tabone Vineyards and Orchards.
We were out taking pictures for our round-up of places to buy pumpkins and fall produce on the Old Mission Peninsula, and stopped to take a few of the roadside stand out by the lighthouse (where the Tootsie Roll used to be, for OMPers who’ve been around a while).
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Mario is super nice, and told me all about his farm and the live opera performances at the City Opera House, which he co-sponsors with Silvio “Tony” Ciccone (a.k.a. Madonna’s dad, who owns a vineyard on the Leelanau Peninsula).
While Mario was telling me all this, he also mentioned that he has (at least) two famous relatives. Britney Spears is a cousin, and he’s also related to Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja.
So there you go. You just never know who you’ll run into while you’re driving out to the lighthouse. Check out Mario’s roadside stands at the corner of Center Road and Tompkins Road, as well as at 14998 Peninsula Drive. Also check out their Website and Facebook page.
[…] and I had a great chat with Mario Tabone, proprietor of Tabone Orchards & Vineyards, back in 2016. He’s super fun to talk with, and also heads up an annual opera event at the City Opera House […]