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Michigan Eateries (page 1)

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Parthenon Restaurant
Ann Arbor, MI
Fleetwood Diner
Ann Arbor, MI
The Parthenon Restaurant opened here in 1975. This building was remodeled to its current look in 1940 for the Cunningham Drug Store. This photo is from 2011. The restaurant closed in 2012. The building was then painted green and housing Lena, a Latin American restaurant. The green paint was a tribute to Cunningham Drugs. By 2016, the building was painted blue and was housing Pretzel Bell. There is another building with the same design in Detroit, MI that also housed a Cunningham Drugs. For more, see this website. [map]

The Fleetwood Diner opened in 1949 as the Dag-Wood Diner. It was built from a kit from the Dag-Wood Diner Company of Toledo. It was renamed the Fleetwood Diner in 1971. This photo is from 2011. In 2014, a neon sign replaced the previous one from the 1970s. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Cherry Hut
Beulah, MI
Whitehouse Restaurant
Clare, MI
The Cherry Hut was founded in 1922. In 1935, they consolidated their three locations into this one in Beulah. The Cherry Hut is famous for its homemade, locally-grown cherry pies which are available at this restaurant and gift/food shop. For more, see this website. [map]

The Whitehouse Restaurant opened in 1935. The small building holds six booths. For more, see this website. [map]

Halo Burger
Flint, MI
This Halo Burger location was built in 1929 as the Vernors Ginger Ale Building. Vernors operated a retail store and sandwich shop here. The mural on the building next door was painted in 1932. It was restored in 1979 and 2001. In 1951, Vernors sold the building to the owner of Kewpee Hamburgs and this became their second location. In 1967, the name was changed to Halo Burger after a franchising disagreement with Kewpee. Today, there are ten Halo Burger locations. This building also serves as the company's corporate offices. There is drive-through service and indoor seating. These photos are from 2011. Around 2017, the plastic projecting sign was replaced with a new neon sign. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Fat Boy Burgers
Grand Rapids, MI
Fat Boy Burgers has been around since the 1950s. It started out as an ice cream shop. It was supposedly built as a Tastee-Freez around 1947. However, Tastee-Freez wasn't established until 1950. Fat Boy Burgers closed in 2008 but reopened in 2009. These photos are from 2011. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Fat Man's Fish Fry
Grand Rapids, MI
The Fat Man's Fish Fry restaurant was established in 1953. The store moved to this location in 1960. The sign had another piece on top originally with a neon Fat Man. The text on the bottom of the sign read: "Snacks Goodies Stuff". [map]

Todoroff's Original Coney Island
Jackson, MI
This Todoroff's Original Coney Island location was built in 2001 and closed in 2008. It was built as a prototype for a fast food franchising attempt. Starting in 1914, the Todoroff family operated numerous restaurants in town. The first Todoroff's Original Coney Island restaurant opened in 1967. These photos are from in 2011. In 2021, the building began housing Big Dog Barbeque. It closed in 2022 after a fire. [map]

More Jackson:
former Domino's

Red Knapp's Dairy Bar
Rochester, MI
Red Knapp's Dairy Bar opened in 1950. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Goetz Lock View Restaurant
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Flap Jack Shack
Traverse City, MI
Goetz Lock View Restaurant opened in 1945 as the Lock View Restaurant. The sign seems to indicate that there was another name associated with "Lock View" originally. The second floor offers a view of ships passing through the Soo Locks. This photo is from 2011. The pole sign was removed in 2014 for restoration. It was reinstalled in 2015. [map]

The Flap Jack Shack chain was established in Traverse City in the late 1960s. This location opened in the mid-1970s. It closed in 2010 but in 2011 new owners were found. They kept the name and the exterior. I don't know what the original location looked like or when the restaurant moved here. There is still a location in Petoskey, now known as the Flap Jack Cafe. However, that building from around 1978 does not look like this one. For more, see this website. [map]

Michigan
Misc. (page 2)
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Burgers
Michigan
Drive-ins
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