Darrow's Family Restaurant

Darrow's Family Restaurant Darrow's makes delicious homemade, all-American food. Soups made from scratch daily, fresh baked bre Theresa ran the drive-in successfully for the next 20 years.
(1787)

From the time of the earliest native tribes, courier de bois and voyageurs to today’s tourist and sportsmen, people have been meeting here to socialize, fish and trade. For thousands of years, Michilimackinac has been known as the meeting spot. Our family moved to this spot in 1943 when Glen and Beatrice Darrow bought the large stone house that stood here to raise their family of nine children. In

the summer of 1957, Beatrice (Grandma Bea), son Patrick and daughter Glenda opened a hot dog stand in the garage that was attached to the house. With the opening of the Bridge and the large increase in traffic, they quickly outgrew the hot dog stand. The old house was torn down and replaced with a drive-in restaurant, complete with car hops, root beer mugs and hot rods. Around 1967, Grandma Bea sold the drive-in to son Don and daughter-in-law Theresa. They added some additional inside seating and a few items to the menu. Don continued a successful career as a Ford, Lincoln & Mercury salesman, helping Theresa at night. In 1988, their son Randy and daughter-in-law Traci became partners. Since that time, the restaurant has evolved into a more full service, family style establishment. Loyal customers will recognize some of the touches of the old drive in days and many still call us “Darrow’s Drive-In”. We are proud to have added a fourth generation. In 2011, Randy & Traci’s son and daughter-in-law Eric and Jesse joined us and we look forward to their involvement. We’ve been very fortunate to have had wonderful employees, many who are close relatives and all who are friends. We want to thank everyone that has helped us over the years, especially Glenda who worked here for 50 years. They put the “family” in our family restaurant. Our philosophy about food has stayed the same –– make it from scratch using the freshest ingredients. Soup made each morning, fresh baked bread, just brewed coffee and homemade pie. Good wholesome American cooking.

08/09/2026

Happy August! We are still looking for a young man named Will Han - we posted in early July with details. If you or your family see this, please call 231-436-5514.

07/29/2026

Are you looking for something new? We are hiring a full time experienced night server. Candidates have to be available through October 18, 2026 and beyond :) Please apply in person between 8 am and 8 pm if you are interested! We are a fun group to work with :)

07/11/2026

Good morning. We are looking for a young man named Will Han. I think he was in the restaurant last Sunday, July 5 sometime in the late morning or early afternoon, around 11-12 years old. He had an interaction with our cashier and left something behind. Please call 231-436-5514 if you or your parents or grandparents see this. 🤞🤞

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07/06/2026

We hope you had a great 4th of July - the weather was perfect here! Thanks to Kal at O'Briens, we will be able to take orders for shipping merchandise. He helped figure out what we needed to get...and we appreciate it!

We will not be doing online orders but you have a couple of options. You can message us here (I check the account each morning) - leave a phone number and what you are interested in and I will call you back when I am at the restaurant. Second, call the restaurant at 231-436-5514 with the same info. If we aren't able to take the order at the time, we will call you back.

Shipping will vary by what is ordered and will be sent via USPS. Orders will need to be pre-paid - visa, mastercard and discover.

We appreciate the interest! Thanks again Kal!

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Good morning! Wanted to share our latest additions to the restaurant. Kal from O'Brien's shirt shop here in Mackinaw C...
06/29/2026

Good morning! Wanted to share our latest additions to the restaurant. Kal from O'Brien's shirt shop here in Mackinaw City has created shirts, hats, magnets, patches and stickers for us! Shirts run from small through 3XL with 3 different designs available. Hats are one size and small/medium and large/extra large depending on the style.

Check out the pictures (although my camera skills aren't the greatest) and check them out next time you are in! Just in time for the 4th of July!

06/19/2026

It's summer and Father's Day! Here's to all the dads, daddys, grandpas, papas, babas, and greats who do so much for us every day! We don't always say thank you but we love and appreciate you ❣️

To celebrate the men in our lives, we are having beef tips and noodles this Sunday only, June 21 for a dinner special. It will start at 11:00 a.m. and be served until we run out. Don't forget - our fabulous baker will have created desserts that can't be missed too.

And because its suppose to be warm, we are now open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors lock at 8:45, kitchen closes at 9).

Happy warm days and hope to see you soon!

05/25/2026

Thinking about those who gave all for all of us.

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05/24/2026

How can May be almost over already? Time does go faster every year. We are now open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, open until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Don't forget - that is when the kitchen is done - we close the doors 15 minutes prior.

We are still looking for a few good folks - we are in need of a part time day host (4 days), part time night server (3 nights) and a day dishwasher (5 days). Come in and apply in person.

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05/15/2026

It's trying to get warmer...so that means daily specials are back! Starting Saturday, May 16 we will have our daily lunch and dinner specials. Check our website and the table tents when you are at the restaurant. Some go quickly, so come early and come often!

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05/09/2026

Happy almost Mother's Day to all our Moms, Mums, Mommys, Grandmas, Memaws, Mimis, Great grandmas, grandma greats and GG's out there. We are the ones who keep everything going (but don't tell the guys). Our baker to the stars is creating cheesecakes all weekend. Make sure you check with our server to see what kind may be available - and remember they go fast!!

It has been great to see so many familiar and new faces in the week or so we've been open. Besides needing a day host and night server, we are in need of a day dishwasher. Come on in and fill out an application and we can go from there. We have a little too much fun most of the time.

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Address

301 Louvingney
Mackinaw City, MI
49701

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 8:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 8:30pm
Thursday 8am - 8:30pm
Friday 8am - 9pm
Saturday 8am - 9pm
Sunday 8am - 8:30pm

Telephone

+12314365514

Website

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