EATON RAPIDS — A Michigan-based family-owned breakfast and lunch restaurant with two other locations has opened a third along the Grand River.
Great Lakes Family Restaurant, which operates locations in Ithaca and Houghton Lake, opened at 323 S. Main St. in Eaton Rapids on Oct. 15, serving breakfast and lunch fare in a building with a riverfront view dining room.
Egla Mio, who, along with her husband Endrit, owns the business, said her extended family opened the first location two decades ago in Fenton. They no longer own it, but operate the locations in Ithaca and Houghton Lake. Her family has spent years working in the restaurant industry, she said. Before moving to Eaton Rapids, Mio worked at the Houghton Lakes location.
Eaton Rapids was perfect fit for Great Lakes Family Restaurant
When the Mios, who immigrated from Albania to the U.S. eight years ago, decided to open their own location, the South Main Street building and Eaton Rapids community both seemed like perfect fits, Mio said.
“I just loved it the first time I saw it,” she said. “There’s a beautiful view, you know? I love the area and I feel like this area needs family restaurants.”
The building is smaller than the other two restaurants, with seating for 45 people and a staff of about a half dozen employees.
The restaurant’s breakfast offerings include omelettes, breakfast plates, biscuits and gravy, a variety of pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Lunch items include burgers, gyros, sandwiches and pasta dishes.
Among the most popular items is the “Breakwater omelette,” served in a bowl and topped with potatoes, sausage, sausage gravy, and melted cheese, and a reuben sandwich made with corned beef or turkey, Swiss cheese, and topped with a choice of coleslaw or sauerkraut, Mio said.
When is Great Lakes Family restaurant open?
Great Lakes Family Restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week.
Great Lakes Family Restaurant may extend hours in future
Though it’s been open for less than a week, Mio said the restaurant has been well received by the community. The dining room has been busy, and the Mios have continued serving customers an hour or two later than the eatery’s hours of operation on a few of those days to accommodate the demand.
“We have a lot of customers asking us for dinner,” Mio said. Hours might be extended in the future after staff adjust to the demands of being new to the community, she said.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Great Lakes Family Restaurant expanding into Eaton Rapids. What to know
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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