Keiser’s, a Lowell landmark, turns 80
By Bill Lee - Contributing Writer
When people think about Lowell, Michigan, there are probably a few things that come to mind - The Red Arrows, The Showboat, the Flat and Grand Rivers. These are all Lowell staples. Why? Because they have been around for a long time and are still here. Tried and true. Another Lowell landmark might also come to mind for many , as well …Keiser’s Kitchen. Keiser’s, which opened its doors at the end of WWII, has been serving good home-cooking, for the residents of Lowell, for 80 years. Amazing. Even more amazing is Keiser’s has been owned by the same family for the entire time.
The restaurant has had many good and bad times and somehow has survived after all these years. Trudy Cahoon, present owner of Keiser’s, has helped run the restaurant for the last 40 years and was kind enough to relay the famous Lowell restaurant’s history for The Ledger. “For a restaurant to survive 80 years and still be in the same family is pretty unusual,” said Cahoon.
Frank and Leitha Keiser, the original owners, decided to start a restaurant in tough times. It was 1945, the end of WWII, a time when raw materials were so scarce, the couple had to receive permission from the U.S. Government for extra sugar to help with their restaurant.
Originally, Keiser’s sat at 521 West Main Street, where Builder’s Fireplace Company now resides. It was a small place, where Frank and Leitha made their own donuts, ground their own meat, and made home-cooked delights, like coleslaw, biscuits and gravy, and chili – all original recipes from Frank that are still made today. When Frank died in 1957, his daughter Darlene took over, when she was 30 years old. She and her family lived in the house that was connected to the restaurant, until her retirement in 1985. Trudy remembers Darlene as a tough person, a woman not to be reckoned with. “Nobody ran over Darlene and she ran the restaurant that way, because back then, women didn’t own businesses,” said Cahoon. “She kind of had to be that way, and put her foot down and be strong.”
After Darlene’s retirement, her son Blair (Trudy’s husband), daughter Chris, son Roger and Trudy, who married Blair in 1983, all ran Keiser’s. Unfortunately, only a few years into their joint family venture, Keiser’s burned to the ground, in 1988. The family had a decision to make: rebuild on the same spot or find a new piece of property. If they were going to expand the business and make it larger, their only choice was to find a new piece of property that would allow for more space but also more parking. They decided to continue running the restaurant for a few months at 109 Riverside Drive (now Sabor Mexicano), while Blair, and his family and friends, gutted and renovated a former restaurant on their new property, at 700 East Main Street, where Keiser’s still stands today. “We continued to run a restaurant while building the new one,” said Cahoon. “It was a very busy time, and I was pregnant when it burned down, and had a baby in the midst of it all.”
Remarkably, it took only five months to finish rebuilding and the new Keiser’s opened its doors on May 23, 1988. The family all ran the restaurant together, until 1997, when Darlene died and her son, Roger, decided to sell his part of the business. Four years later, Blair’s sister, Chris, decided it was her time to move on and so the business was owned solely by Blair and Trudy in 2001. Chris ended up becoming the general manager of a new restaurant in Lowell, The Flat River Grill.
Trudy remembers the good times, and the bad, throughout the years, including in 2006, when the US economy was having a difficult time and many businesses had to shut their doors. Blair and Trudy were determined not to be one of them. “Things were a lot slower during those times,” said Cahoon. “We have always been reluctant to raise prices, even though stuff that we purchase goes up and up. We had a huge loan to build the building and buying out Roger and Chris. It was hard to keep up on. The bank was very lenient with us. But we survived it all.”
From there, family got older, and unfortunately, Chris passed in 2009 and Blair passed in 2018, leaving Trudy as sole owner of the restaurant. “That was a rough one [commenting on Blair’s passing],” said Cahoon. “Then it was me.” She credits Roger, and her good friend and employee, Sherrie Stevens, for helping so much during those times.
Then, of course, the Covid Pandemic hit in 2020 and changed everything for everyone. Uncertainty ruled the day, including at Keiser’s. Cahoon decided to make the best of it, so they did a lot of renovations on the restaurant. She credits the Lowell community for helping Keiser’s during that time, but especially, Litehouse Foods. “During that time, Litehouse called me and asked if we’d be interested in making about 400-500 sandwiches a day for their employees,” said Cahoon. “It was crazy but they saved us. We had income. I am very grateful to Litehouse for doing that for us. I know a lot of restaurants had to shut down but we are grateful for them, for saving Keiser’s.”
Covid forced Keiser’s to make a couple of other changes. No longer could it serve dinner as it did in the past. In its heyday, Keiser’s was open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; now is only open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., serving breakfast and lunch. But there was one tradition Trudy was not able to give up. Covid would not take it away from her. The one night they remain open is on Fridays, for the weekly fish fry that Keiser’s has hosted for decades. “I couldn’t give that up,” admitted Cahoon. “People tried to talk me into giving it up because it’s not huge, like it was. We use to have people standing in line out the door. But it’s such a tradition; I couldn’t give it up. We don’t make a lot of money but people love it.”
Even after all these years, Keiser’s has survived fire, loss of family and friends, and even a plague. What keeps the doors open? Cahoon thinks the answer is simple: treating employees and customers like family. It was something she learned when Darlene ran the restaurant so many years ago. “My employees (all 18 of them) mean the world to me,” said Cahoon. “They’re awesome. A lot of it has to do with about treating everyone like family. Always have. We are there if our employees or customers ever need something. I have gone down on the Fourth of July because someone called me because they forgot hotdog buns, ‘Just meet me at Keiser’s, I’ll get you a pack.’ That’s how we treat people and I think that has a lot to do with the longevity of Keiser’s. We are as kind as we can be to people. We’re fair and try to price things fairly. Even though my mother-in-law was harsh, she always tried to treat people with kindness and like family.”
And, oh, let’s not forget about the food and service. Sure, a nice family atmosphere is always great, but if the food doesn’t cut it…“we also make really good food,” said Cahoon. “Breakfast is always amazing and people are always astounded how quickly it comes out. The waitresses are kind and friendly and do their best to make people happy.”
So what does the future hold for Keiser’s? Will the restaurant end when Trudy is no longer here? Well, it sounds as though the Keiser’s legacy is safe. Trudy Cahoon’s daughter, Malley, who lives in Ann Arbor and used to run the Keiser’s cash register at 7-years-old, seems ready to take over when it is time. Malley always was at Keiser’s rather than the sitter. When Malley’s stepson graduates in a couple of years, she will move to Lowell and take it over. “Malley’s just a very kind person,” said Cahoon. “The place that she works at in Ann Arbor is called the Old Town Tavern, and the people just love her there because she treats them like family.”
Family. A word used a lot by Cahoon. After eight decades, one family has been cooking, cleaning, and bringing the Lowell community closer. Thank you, Keiser’s, and Happy 80th!
