As spring approaches, we all look forward to the sense of renewal the season brings. In Ypsilanti, a renewal of a different sort is already underway, and it comes in the form of an historically popular eatery.
It was 1934 when Haab’s Restaurant opened its doors on West Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti. Back then, the road was a major thoroughfare connecting the bustling cities of Detroit and Chicago, and travelers were always happy to stop at Haab’s.
In addition, the restaurant became a favorite with locals during the following decades, and the menu featured hearty steaks, chops, chicken in the rough, seafood and their famous London Broil.
However, as with many locally owned establishments, the COVID pandemic was not kind to Haab’s, and it closed in 2022. A sadness filled the air as locals mourned the death of a long-time friend.
Fast forward to 2024, when new owners Jason Mitchell and Katie Nelson were looking for a place to relocate their business, Distillery Livonia.
JASON MITCHELL: “Our idea was to relocate our tasting room here. Once we learned about the history, we knew we had to make it more. We had to bring back Haab’s for everyone.”
KATIE NELSON: “The more we talked to the community, and we spoke with the old owner, and we learned a lot about the history and we kind of fell in love with it and felt we needed to kind of bring some of that history back.”
And Jason says customers are happy they were able to reopen the legendary restaurant.
“They're very excited that we're doing this. They have generations of people that have been coming here, and we're trying to mimic what it was so that that tradition is still alive here.”
It didn’t take long for Jason and Katie to realize that they may be able to resurrect what was once Haab’s while at the same time infusing some of their own new creations.
JASON: “The major difference is it's still our tasting room, so all the spirits and alcohol products that you'll enjoy here is produced and manufactured by us. And then, we have some of our newer foods that we're gonna bring in as well, along with the traditional food.”
One person long-time Haab’s patrons may recognize is Wally Newell, one of the restaurant’s legendary cooks. He says, back in the day. he was a local celebrity, and that people turned to him with questions when Haab’s was shuttered.
“I used to live right upstairs. I had an apartment right upstairs. I could walk down the street and people could see my face and they'll honk their horn. They wouldn't know, at the time, they didn't even know my name was Wally. I was the Haab's guy. They saw me, everybody would honk and wave. I waved, I knew what they were honking for. The place closed down. All the regulars were asking, ‘What are you gonna do with the place?’ At the point in time, I had no idea.”
He says that once word of the reopening got out, his fans were calling him back.
“I had people running up to me like, ‘Haab's is reopening!’ I'm like, it's spread like wildfire. I have a Facebook page, where I display all my cooking on from Haab's. People started just dropping everything into my instant messages and everything. 'You need to go back and show them this! You need to go back and show them that!'”
And while health reasons prevent Wally from returning to the kitchen full-time, just like a retired sports star, Wally is acting as a coach and trainer to help the Haab’s team find the best.
“I'll be a silent cook. You know, I can't do full time no more. I've been back there a couple of times. We have the right cooks back here. We won't have to be back there cooking. All we have to do is walk them through it. The way cooks, you gotta put them in the water to see how well they swim before you can get them on full time.”
With legendary restaurants come superfans. And for that, I look no further than Lisa and Eric Walters. They are semi-retired and now living in California, but their connection to Haab’s goes way back.
ERIC WALTERS: “We moved here in 1957, probably been to Haab’s even before I remember. One of my earliest memories was when my oldest brother, who's like 10 years older than me, got engaged, and we had a big party at Haab’s.”
One of Lisa’s best memories of Haab’s is an early date with Eric.
LISA WALTERS: “The beginning was when my sister started at EMU in 1967, and we drove out from Royal Oak to visit her, and we all had dinner at Haab's. I had spaghetti. Yes, I remember. And then I moved here, like I said, in 1979 to go to graduate school. Met him in 1980, in January of 1980, and that was one of our first dates was at Haab's.
JOHN STOCKWELL: "Do you know what you ordered then?"
LISA: "I ordered the fried chicken because he said he was surprised that I would order fried chicken because you eat it with your fingers. And he thought that was pretty casual.”
Lisa also revealed that they once lived in the building right next door to the restaurant.
“We lived in Normal Park for, I think it was 27 years, something like that, and raised our kids there. And then after that, I just thought, wouldn't it be fun to live downtown? And we've been involved in historic preservation for a long time, so we thought it would be really cool to get an old building and restore it. Bought the building right next door to Haab’s. It was built in something like 1850. Gutted it, redid everything. People would see it and say, 'You don't have a dining room.' And I would say, 'We live next door to Haab’s. Why do I need a dining room? That's our dining room.'”
A striking feature in the Walter’s Ypsilanti condo, that they use when visiting the area, is the Haab’s dining room.
JOHN STOCKWELL: “Tell me where we are right now. I'm in the Haab's Shrine. I've been granted access; full all access. I have an all-access pass. Tell me what I'm looking at. This is absolutely awesome!”
LISA WALTERS: “Well, I'll start with the table and chairs and the lamp. You know, they had this auction, and we were driving from Michigan back to Southern California where we moved seven and a half years ago. Found out about the auction. So, we're like traveling. I'm in a hotel bidding on the table and chairs. I won't go into detail, but we got an amazingly great deal on these things.”
JOHN: “So, this is actual Haab’s furniture and a Haab’s light above my head?”
LISA: "Yes, and the lamp costs a lot more than the table and chairs."
JOHN: "What's behind you? The wall of Haab's? This is wonderful!"
LISA: "The giant puzzle there, my brother-in-law took the photo and had a puzzle made for me because he knew how much I loved Haab's. And I assembled it, and Eric made a frame because I wasn't going to take it apart again. And we have the little kind of a tissue paper chicken in the rough thing that used to line the baskets when they were actually using the chicken in the rough brand. When the early menus, you can look at the, you know, most of the prices are under a dollar up there. I also have several old placemats. Well, the menus were placemats and I had them laminated too, so I could use them for placemats here. And then on the shelf, we have all different kinds of glassware and matches and coasters and whatever, postcard, just all different Haab’s memorabilia."
And finally, there is good news for Eric and Lisa and all the fans of Haab’s. New owner Jason says he is not here on a whim or out of curiosity--he’s in it for the long haul.
“I'd like to welcome them just as much as they're welcoming us. We want to make this a community endeavor and experience for everyone. We plan on being here as long as we can be here."
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