The Grant Depot
22 W. Main St. (map it!)
Grant, MI 49327
(231) 834-7361
Open Mon-Thurs, 5:30a-8p; Fri & Sat, 5:30a-9p; Sun, 8a-3p
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y
Date of Visit: Tuesday, July 30, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.
IMPRESSIONS: In case I haven’t said it before: Dekkers like trains. I could just as easily started Trains With Nick as I did with Breakfast With Nick five years ago. There’s just something so fascinating about them. They’re big and unstoppable. They’re noisy. They travel along definite paths. They’re a piece of history still rolling today.
So when the ENTIRE Dekker family is on vacation in western Michigan, and we decide to go out for breakfast, then OF COURSE we’re going to the restaurant that was an old train depot and still has active tracks running mere feet away from it.
ATMOSPHERE: The Grant Depot is housed in, well, the old Grant depot. The restaurant is packed with railroad paraphernalia: trains, lights, posters, photos, even some working equipment. (See the bottom of the post for more pictures.) They seated our large group in the upper room, although I’m not sure what was so upper about it…
…given that it was on the exact same level as the lower dining room. But I certainly won’t complain. The restaurant was busy and yet they easily accommodated a giant group like ours.
FOOD: We of course started with coffee. I love that small-town breakfast joints have the customized mugs or paper placemats with local advertising.
FOOD: With a big family, we ordered a lot of different things, so I’ll let the line-up of pictures mostly speak for themselves.
The whole meal was a curious mix of homemade plus bulk-made. Usually restaurants lean one way or the other, but Grant Depot mixed it up. Take this plate, for instance: probably frozen hash brown patties + powdered eggs. The eggs were too uniform of a consistency, from one dish to the next, to be cooked fresh.
And then there’s toast made with giant slices of homemade bread! Like I said, a confusing mix.
Country fried steak and gravy.
Side of biscuits and gravy.
French toast.
And a breakfast burrito. All pretty straightforward stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, but nothing bad.
SERVICE: Our server was (I think) the manager, and he was nice but seemed very harried the whole time. But we liked how he designated the different families when we split up our checks. We had to wait a little while for our food – not surprising with a large group – but that afforded us time to wander outside near the train tracks. The manager said about two trains a day come through Grant. Sadly, not while we ate breakfast.
OVERALL: The Grant Depot is more remarkable for its location and decor than its food, but sometimes a fun atmosphere and good company are more important than the meal anyway. If you need a good breakfast and a history lesson and you’re near the small town of Grant, give the Depot a try. Plus, the area is perfect for vacationing!
OTHER LINKS & MORE PICTURES:
Pictured above is a still-working floor scale near the entryway of the Depot.
Sign-in book up front.
The Depot in its heyday.
Out front is an old caboose and the water tower, apparently a signature piece of history along with the Depot.
