Rapid River Restaurants

Jack's Restaurant, Rapid River

This consummate small-town diner offers very good home cooking grandma-style, and good value, too. The ever-changing array of "Jack's classics" ($6.50 to $10) may be meat loaf, chicken pot pie, roast pork or beef, or hamburger hot dish. Classics come with choice of potato, vegetable, and homemade roll. Breads, pies ($2.39/slice), dinner rolls, and sweet rolls are made here from scratch. They're also sold retail, with a day-ahead order for pies, dinner rolls, and breads. Berries for desserts and pancakes are purchased locally when possible. Sunday dinner features baked turkey or ham. Friday fish fry ($7-$11) most always features fresh whitefish, lake trout, and perch (all fried). Salmon and cod come grilled or baked.
Jack and Vivian Miller founded Jack's in 1943. (Her mother was a lumber camp cook.) Now their grandson Jon owns and runs it. Soups can be outstanding—the "boiled dinner" soup (corned beef, cabbage, potato, carrot, onion) is terrific. Burgers are formed fresh. The knotty-pine dining room has charming murals of local scenes from the 1940s, by John Heath of Au Train.
Bring cash if you're not from the U.P.!

7897 S. Main Street at U.S. 2/U.S. 41. Look for the tall vintage neon sign that says "Eat." From April thru Nov. open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., to 9 Fri & Sat. Jan. thru March: open Thurs-Sun 7-8, closed Mon-Wed. Wheelchair-accessible except for bathrooms. Beer & wine.
Address: 7897 South Main Street [Get Directions]

Swallow Inn
(906) 474-9333

The Swallow Inn, a friendly bar and grill, occupies a building going way, way back to lumbering days.

Lively and friendly, the Swallow Inn occupies what's thought to be Rapid River's oldest building. There are a pool table, a few video games, dart ball, loads of Red Wings paraphernalia, and enough room to dance. Weekends usually bring live music or a DJ with karaoke. All ages come to dance here, depending on the band.
Some say the Friday fish fry (4-10 p.m.) is Delta County's best: usually there's fresh perch, walleye, and whitefish—9 kinds of fish altogether, accompanied by a generous salad bar and homemade soup. Come around 4 to avoid a wait. Otherwise, sign up and wait at the bar. The regular menu consists of burgers ($5-$6) and many other kinds of sandwiches, nachos, potato salad, and soup.

10468 South Main in downtown Rapid River, 2 blocks east of the U.S. 2/41 light at Jack's. Open Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sat 10 a.m.-2, Sun noon-2. Wheelchair access: some steps. Call. After 8 it's not so much for kids. Full bar.
[Get Directions]

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RAPID RIVER
POINTS OF INTEREST

adhocWORKshop. In an old whirligig shop along US-2, artist and designer Ritch Branstrom now makes and sells delightfully whinsical "found object sculptures." ... more

Bay de Noc-Grand Island Trail. A 40-mile-long non-motorized trail parallels the Whitefish River in the Hiawatha National Forest. It beckons hikers, horseback riders, and, in winter, mushers. Once it was an important portage between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, used by Indians and for the fur trade. ... more

Haymeadow Falls. A short, delightful trail through a hardwood forest takes you to a little waterfall on a high-quality trout stream, Haymeadow Creek, and to a nearby campground ... more

Hiawatha National Forest Interpretive Center & district office. Interpretive displays, a nature store, and excellent maps are a great introduction to this 900,000-acre forest ... more

Rapid River Cross-Country Ski Trail. 19 miles of loops through pine and maple forests, from easy to advanced ... more

Rapid River Falls. An easy walk from U.S. 41 takes you to a beautiful park and falls ... more

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