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Category Archives: Bars and Restaurants

Leggs Inn

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bars and Restaurants .

the legs inn cross village michigan

The Legs Inn,  in the town of Cross Village, is named for the stove legs that trim the roofline. It is a popular stop along M-119 at the north end of the Tunnel of Trees.

The building was built by Stanley Smolak. He came to the United States in 1912 from Poland and settled in Cross Village in 1921. During the 1930s Smolak enlisted the labor of Odawa and other area residents to construct the inn from locally gathered timber and stones. A self-trained artist, Smolak used tree roots, limbs and driftwood to carve fantastical creatures into furniture and decorative objects used in the inn. He called his carvings “natures oddities.” Until his death in 1968 at age eighty-one, Smolak continued his creative work at the inn, which had become a social center for the community.

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The Short Barn

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bars and Restaurants, Thumb .

I have driven past this barn near Bay Port on M-25 a few times. It has always intrigued me as to why it is so low to the ground. If you have followed me for a long time you know I am a city boy. I am not an expert on farming but I assuming this is a chicken coop but it’s only a guess. if anyone could enlighten me please post a comment I would appreciate it.

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The Notorious Purple Gang and Their Connections to Mid-Michigan

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bars and Restaurants, Forgotten Places, small towns .

Purple_GangWhenever I mention the Purple Gang many people ask me who they were because they never heard of them, which surprises me since they were one of the most ruthless and violent gangs in America. In 1916 Michigan adopted the Damon Act, which prohibited liquor effective in 1917, three years before national Prohibition, prompting bootleggers to smuggle booze from Canada to Detroit and the Purple Gang (sometimes referred to as the Sugar House Gang) was the mob that monopolized the flow of alcohol in Detroit. After prohibition was the law of the land about 40% of the illegal liquor came into the U.S. From Canada and the Purples distributed it with Capone being one of their many customers. The Gang was one of the most violent in America and it is rumored that the Purple Gang had a hand in the St Valentines Day Massacre. They were also suspects in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

The part of the Purple Gangs history that always interested me is their connection to central Michigan.

In Clare, the murder of gangster attorney Isaiah Leebove in 1938 was indirectly due to the Purple Gang. Oil promoter Jack Livingston had a disagreement with Leebove who was a Purple Gang associate. Convinced Leebove was going to have the Purple Gang kill him, Livingston shot and killed Leebove in the tap room at the Doherty Hotel before the Purple Gang could come after him.

419284_181317635308152_1315064214_nA popular hangout for the Purple Gang was The Graceland Ball Room in Lupton. The building was built in the late 1920’s by “One Arm” Mike Gelfand a member of the Purple Gang, no one knows where the money came from to build it but many speculate it was from the Purple Gang. Al Capone was had visited it several times to do business and supposedly the rustic log interior had bullet holes in a few of the logs, sadly it burnt down in the early 1980s.

Not far from the south branch of Au Sauble river in northern Michigan on property once owned by William Durant, the founder of General Motors the “Detroit Partnership” a group of Detroit Mafia families built one of the largest ranches in Michigan history and the members of the Purple Gang were frequent visitors. The various barns surrounding the primary residence resembled modern day airplane hangars. They included an indoor horse riding area, dance parlor, interlinking tunnels and hidden rooms The property spanned acres and included a private runway, hunting area, servant quarters, junkyard, and an Olympic-sized pool. The house itself was involved in gang related activities for years. frequently visited by Jimmy Hoffa and is believed to be by some his “final resting place”. It was even searched upon his disappearance., and it was rumored to be the site of dozens of mafia-style executions. After being seized for tax evasion, the ranch laid dormant for years and eventually demolished. The property is now part of Forest Dunes Golf Club.

The purple gang was also rumored to have used Grousehaven Lodge which was built by auto magnate Harry Jewett which is currently part of the Rifle River Recreation Area. you can read the interesting story of Grousehaven HERE

There were also Ties to the J G Schemm Brewery in Saginaw. After the repeal of Prohibition, a group of investors from Detroit tried to get a license to brew beer at the old brewery. The state would not issue them a license, because of suspected connection to the Purple Gang. you can read about the brewery HERE

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Great Plains Burger Co. Some of the Best Burgers in Michigan

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bars and Restaurants, Restaurants .

Great Plains Burger Co.
1771 Plymouth Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
www.greatplainsburger.com

Great Plains Burger Co ann arbor michiganOne of my favorite places to get a hamburger is Great Plains Burger Co. in Ann Arbor. It’s one of those places that specializes in making hamburgers and does it extremely well. You place your order at the counter, and they cook patties as you order, so they are fast, fresh and hot when you get them. You have a choice between beef, turkey and black bean. I have had both the beef and the turkey, and either one is grilled to juicy perfection. I like that they give me the healthy options, since I need to be eating healthy, or at least healthier. The buns come from a local Detroit bakery, and are the perfect top and bottom to the patty of your choice. They also have a plethora of toppings to choose from, and you can build your perfect burger.

Great Plains Burger Co ann arbor michiganI think my absolute favorite thing about Great Plains Burger Co, are the unique sauces in the pump thingy over by the fountain pop machine. They have Kentucky bourbon, white BBQ, G. P. Bistro sauce and Caribbean jerk. I wish they would bottle them and sell them but I guess I will just have to keep going back to enjoy them.

They also make some delicious French fries too. Cut from fresh real potatoes and even sweet potatoes. They are the perfect sidekick for the awesome Burger, and they give you plenty of them. My family of four splits a basket of fries. Oh and did I mention the unique Great Plains special sauces, they are great for dipping you fresh made fries into.

For the trifecta of flavor to go along with your burger and fries, they make hand dipped shakes with the milk and ice cream coming from a local dairy. It’s nice to go somewhere and watch someone make a shake and not just stick a cup under a machine and pull a handle to have some brown stuff ooze out of it.

It’s a little ways out of downtown A2, but it’s not to far from us23 and you can take the Plymouth road exit and head west a few miles to get to it quickly so I like to stop there when I am headed along 23 near Ann Arbor.

 

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Tags: ann arbor, great plains burgers, hamburger .

Spike’s Keg O Nails in Grayling

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bars and Restaurants, Restaurants .

spikes keg o nailsSpike’s Keg O’ Nails
on the business loop in Grayling
website www.spikes-grayling.com/

When choosing a place to eat while traveling, sometimes I go by the name of the restaurant to make my decision, and when there is a place called Spikes Keg Of Nails that sounds like a place I have to try. I have been to Grayling several times and for some strange reason I have never eaten there but since a lot of my facebook friends recommended it and it has a cool sounding name I had to try it. You will find them Right in the middle of town on the main drag near the jet (yeah you know what jet I am talking about if you have been to Grayling) and the Au Sable River.

spikes keg o nails I got a burger and chips, which was way better than your average fast food, but about the same price. I think you can tell a lot about a resturant by the burgers they serve, if they use fresh meat and serve them hot on a good bun then there care about the other items on the menu.  This was my first time to Spikes and can only eat so much, but I will have to stop in again and try some more items on the menu, next time I am heading up north There were a plethora of customers when I was there and the service was still fast.

I will definitely take the left handed exit into Grayling and drive past all the chain places on go to Spikes Keg O Nails.

spikes keg o nails

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Tags: burger, grayling, hamburger, spikes keg o nails .

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