The Restaurants Kalamazoo Still Misses

Some places close. Others never really leave.

Ask someone about a restaurant that closed 10, 20 or 30 years ago and something interesting happens.

They rarely start by describing the food.

Instead, they'll tell you who they went there with.

They'll remember the booth where their family always sat. The place they went after softball games. The restaurant where they had their first date. The owner who somehow remembered everybody's name.

Recently, someone on a local neighborhood group asked a simple question:

If you could bring back one Kalamazoo restaurant that's no longer here, which one would it be?

The memories came flooding back.

Names like La Fontanella, Chi-Chi's, Godfather's, the Beacon Club, Gull Harbor Inn, Anchor Inn, Fricano's, Bravo, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Choices and Final Curtain quickly appeared.

But a few of those names tell particularly good stories about why some restaurants never quite disappear from our memories.

Remember Pappy's Place?

If you lived around Kalamazoo or Portage during Pappy's heyday, there's a pretty good chance that question just brought back a memory.

Pappy's sat at 5303 S. Westnedge Avenue, near Westnedge and Andy, next to Meijer. It wasn't fancy, and that was part of its charm.

There were wet burritos—Pappy's advertised the "best wet burritos in town"—along with a bar, pool tables, pinball machines and plenty of room for people to gather.

And gather they did.

During softball season, Pappy's could be absolutely packed. Teams would pile in after games, still talking about the play somebody should have made or the hit that won the game. Add friends, spouses and regular customers, and on a busy summer evening Pappy's became less like a restaurant and more like a neighborhood clubhouse.

A big part of that atmosphere was Butch Shearer.

Shearer and Terry Housler purchased Pappy's in 1977, and Butch became one of the personalities people associated with the restaurant. He seemed to always be there with a smile and had that rare ability to make nearly everyone feel like an old friend.

In a way, Butch was everybody's best friend.

And maybe that's why Pappy's remains so easy to remember.

You could get a burrito anywhere.

You couldn't get another Pappy's.

Then There Was La Fontanella

Another name that immediately surfaced in the neighborhood conversation was La Fontanella, the family-owned Italian restaurant remembered by longtime West Main-area residents.

What's striking isn't simply that people remembered the name.

They remembered John and Starla, the husband-and-wife owners.

One former customer recalled eating there several times each month. Another remembered growing up next door to Starla. Others simply remembered great Italian food and the warm atmosphere.

More than two decades after it disappeared, people were still talking about the owners by their first names.

That's remarkable.

Bravo Was Where Dinner Became an Occasion

Then there was Bravo Restaurant & Cafe on Portage Road, directly across from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport.

For roughly 33 years, Bravo occupied a different place in Kalamazoo's dining landscape.

This was the restaurant you chose when dinner mattered.

A first date. An anniversary. Prom night. A rehearsal dinner. A retirement celebration. An important business dinner with someone flying into town.

Chef-owners Shawn and Terry Hagen built Bravo into a destination known for steaks, seafood, pasta and creative dishes served in an atmosphere that felt upscale without being stuffy. Its location directly across from the airport also made it a natural meeting place for travelers and local businesses.

Then came March 2020.

Bravo suspended dine-in service as Michigan restaurants shut down during the COVID pandemic. After considering their options for several weeks, the owners announced that Bravo would not reopen.

After approximately 33 years, it was suddenly over.

In their farewell, the owners reflected on all the milestones they'd witnessed inside those walls—first dates, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers and retirement parties.

That's when you realize Bravo hadn't simply been serving meals.

It had been hosting pieces of people's lives.

And Then the Names Start Coming...

Mention old Kalamazoo restaurants and suddenly everybody has one.

The Beacon Club.

Chi-Chi's.

Godfather's.

Gull Harbor Inn.

The Anchor Inn.

Fricano's.

Choices.

Final Curtain.

Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Sometimes merely hearing the name unlocks something you haven't thought about in years.

"Oh wow...I remember that place."

And suddenly you're not remembering a restaurant anymore.

You're remembering your life when that restaurant was still in it.

Maybe you were newly married.

Maybe the kids were little.

Maybe you were playing softball three nights a week and somehow had enough energy afterward to stay at

Pappy's until closing.

Maybe Bravo was where you celebrated your 25th anniversary.

Maybe Mom and Dad were still around.

That's why certain restaurants remain special long after the sign comes down.

Buildings get remodeled. Menus disappear. New businesses move into familiar spaces.

But the memories stay.

And sometimes, decades later, all it takes is someone asking:

"Do you remember that restaurant we used to go to?"

And an entire piece of Kalamazoo comes rushing back.

So now we're asking you.

If you could bring back ONE Kalamazoo or Portage restaurant tomorrow—exactly the way you remember it—which one would it be?

And even better...

What's the memory that makes you want it back?

We have a feeling there are a lot more stories out there.