RILEY TWP. — In the nearly 40 years that George Seperic Jr. owned the South Riley Grocery and Tavern the small bar and restaurant never maintained a website or Facebook page. The eatery has no Instagram or TikTok account.
The tavern does have a Google listing, said Mackenzie Parker, Seperic’s daughter, but her father never asked for it, instead spending a decade trying to get the listed hours for the restaurant corrected.
“They weren’t right,” Parker said.
Despite all of it, the South Riley Grocery and Tavern made a name for itself among Lansing area foodies. The eatery has become a hidden gem beloved for its burgers, massive batches of fries and Seperic’s hospitality.
“There’s nobody I can think of that’s as loved as my dad was,” Parker said. “And dad loved everybody.”
He died on Aug. 4 at age 84, weeks after falling ill and entering hospice. Seperic is survived by his wife Judy, five children and 21 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
The South Riley Grocery and Tavern has always been an extension of her father, Parker said. He loved the business, its employees and customers. His family’s goal now is to keep running it in his honor.
“I’ve made sure that place was going to be open come hell or high water,” she said. “That’s the one thing he was asking me in hospice. He kept asking if the bar was open and I was like, ‘Yes, dad, I have the bar open.’ That was important to him.”
He ‘was South Riley’
Seperic bought the South Riley Grocery and Tavern 38 years ago. At the time the bar had no kitchen but had already lived several lives, having been home to a general store, auto body shop and butcher, if rumors are to be believed, Parker said.
“But it was South Riley when he bought it,” she said, and it was Seperic Jr.’s first business. He had retired from a career as a delivery truck driver for several beverage companies, including Pabst Brewing Company and Pepsi.
“He changed it a lot in the time that he owned it,” Parker said. He and wife Judy added a kitchen in the late 1990s and the tavern’s food began gathering a wide-ranging fan base.
Seperic told Parker word of mouth was the most powerful form of advertising and he wasn’t wrong.
Kelleen Stiffler, who lives in Eagle, has been eating at the tavern for 35 years. The community is full of generations worth of customers loyal to the business, she said.
“People just know and once they go, they’re hooked and they keep going back,” Stiffler said.
They love the burgers, the massive portions and the tiny dining room (there are just a dozen tables) but they loved Seperic too, she said.
He greeted customers, often offering a free round of drinks to parties, and would often leave items off Stiffler’s bill despite her instance that she pay for everything.
She added that Seperic was “a warm, inviting, generous man,” she said. “You’d walk in as a customer and leave feeling like he was your friend your whole life. He was the foundation and the rock that this restaurant survived on all these years.”
Simply put, the South Riley Grocery and Tavern has “the best burgers in the world,” said Pam Patrick of Portland.
Beyond that, Patrick said Seperic “was South Riley” and fans of the tavern know that. In 2023, after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she helped organize a fundraiser to help with his expenses. It raised nearly $40,000, she said, and when organizers ran out of food for the dinner, area residents stayed in line anyway, waiting to donate money.
It was a testament to who Seperic was, Patrick said.
“If you were a stranger that walked in, he would meet you and he would treat you like you were his best friend, and he always bought the first beer for you,” she said.
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‘I’ll miss him forever’
The South Riley Grocery and Tavern is still very much a family run business. Judy Seperic, Parker and her husband and other family members are part of the small staff.
Judy Seperic said she lost her best friend when her husband died.
“George was an amazing person; he was kind and considerate,” she said. “I loved him so much and I’ll miss him forever.”
Parker said her father will be remembered for his love of Michigan State University sports, softball, which he played well into his 40’s, his love of travel and the business that meant a great deal to him.
“Dad loved South Riley,” she said. “He wasn’t in it for the money. He worked hard and played harder. He was a larger-than-life personality. He couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone he knew. To make friends like him would be a privilege.”
A celebration of Seperic’s life is planned for noon on Sunday, Aug. 16 at South Riley Grocery and Tavern, 10777 Francis Rd. in Riley Township.
Parker said friends and family are welcome but urged people to carpool if they can. His family is expecting a crowd.
“It’s for anyone who knew him and wants to come,” she said.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: George Seperic Jr., the ‘foundation’ of the South Riley Tavern, dies
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
