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.
(1785)

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 b**r 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.

10/04/2026

Thanks to the great crews at Consumers Energy - we are back in business!! Might take a minute to get everything fired up. Thank for your patience!

Send a message to learn more

10/04/2026

So our power is currently out at the restaurant. We have called Consumers and will let you know when we are back up and running....what a mess.

Send a message to learn more

09/24/2026

It is officially fall and the days are certainly getting shorter. We are now open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (don't forget - doors lock 15 minutes prior to closing). We just have over 3 weeks left so make sure you stop in at least one more time!

On a belated note, a special thank you and shout out to Shelly House and her amazing gardening team! Shelly has taken our beautiful flowers over from Donna Beach and we are grateful for all the work that goes into our beautiful beds and pots. Take a look next time you are in!

See you soon!

09/04/2026

Labor Day Weekend already---where did the summer go? We will be closing for the season in just over 6 weeks - last call will be Sunday, October 18, 2026.

And because the days are getting shorter, so are our hours. We are now open Sunday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday to 9:00 p.m. Don't forget - that's when the kitchen closes. We lock the doors 15 minutes prior.

Hope we see you a few more times!

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. 🤞🤞

Send a message to learn more

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!

Send a message to learn more

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!

Address

301 Louvingney
Mackinaw City, MI
49701

Opening Hours

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

Telephone

+12314365514

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Darrow's Family Restaurant posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Darrow's Family Restaurant:

Shortcuts

Share

Category