Sandy Longsdorf, longtime Livonia and Redford resident and former restaurant owner, dies

Sandra "Sandy" Longsdorf, a longtime Livonia and Redford resident and restaurant owner, died on Jan. 6 at Beaumont Hospital in Farmington Hills surrounded by her family and friends.

She was 62.

A Facebook post by her husband of 35 years, Ron Longsdorf, stated that Longsdorf battled lung cancer for a year and a half.

Longsdorf was born in Garden City and was a 1979 graduate of Livonia Frankin High School, according to her obituary. She was known for her "heart of gold" and for dedicating her life to "take care of family and friends" and as the owner of a former longtime Livonia restaurant.Longsdorf and her husband, Ron, owned the former and longtime Old Mexico restaurant on Five Mile Road in Livonia. She began working at Old Mexico restaurant in the mid-70s as a waitress. It was her first job, Ron Longsdorf said.

The restaurant had been around for more than four decades. Longstdorf and her husband purchased the business about 22 years ago, he said, from its then-owners Vicki and Ramon Castaneda, who also had an Old Mexico location in West Bloomfield.

"We took it on and we were going to see it through to the end," he said. "We needed to raise our family. That was our livelihood. I worked construction in between."

The Longsdorf's permanently closed the Livonia restaurant in July 2022, citing health issues at that time.

During the years owning the restaurant, Longsdorf said they always treated employees "as if they were family and the same with the customers."

"We helped all kinds of people through the year, our employees, fundraisers. We supported sponsorships and donated food to a lot of different things," Longsdorf said.

Old Mexico was a popular and family place. Through the years of owning the restaurant, Longsdorf said they watched kids come in when they were little and later saw those same kids bring their kids.

Ron Longsdorf posted the news of his wife's passing on a Livonia Facebook group page. The post has more than 400 comments, including those sharing memories of her and many special occasions at the restaurant and its impact on the community. The Livonia page post has been shared more than 1,000 times.

Longsdorf believes his wife liked the challenge and spent a lot of time at the restaurant all these years."Everybody knew Sandy," he said. "She spent a lot of time there. They've known her since she started as a waitress to running the counter. I know she appreciated her customers and always did the best she could to make sure they were satisfied. "Longsdorf is survived by her husband, Ron, children Nicole and Brandon Longsdorf, granddaughter Jada Newland, and siblings Brenda Richardson, the late Gary, the late Don, Chuck, David, and Ron.A GoFundMe page has been set up by Nicole Longsdorf to help with funeral expenses.

A visitation is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the L.J. Griffin Funeral Home, 7707 Middlebelt Rd., Westland, followed by a 4 p.m. service.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Former Livonia restaurant owner Sandra 'Sandy' Longsdorf dies at 62