Brenda's Harbor Cafe (Ludington, Michigan)

 restaurant, cafe, 19th century construction

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Building constructed in the late 19th century as M. Hansen & Co. Cigar Factory, it has closed its doors around early 1910's.

The first floor was split into two building spaces around early 1910's: the first half of this building (318 S James St.) used to house cigar shops E. Kanouse Cigar Store (until 1914), The Pill Shop (1914-c. mid 1916), Kanouse('s) Pill Shop (c. mid 1916-c. 1918 [relocated to 107 W Ludington Ave. and reopened in mid 1922 as Kanouse Cigar]), battery shops Ludington Battery Shop (c. early-March 1919-c. early 1920's), (W.J.) Barton & Larsen (c. early 1920's-April 17, 1925), (W.J.) Barton & Randall (c. late-April 1925-1926), Barton's Battery Shop (1926-c. mid 1928), home appliances store Wayt & Son (April 3, 1931-c. late-November 1932 [relocated to 110 S James St.]), metal dealer Ludington Sheet Metal (c. late 1930's-late March 1946 [relocated to 211 E Dowland St.]), Ivanhoe Archery Shop (June 22, 1946 [space shared with Ferris Heating Co.]-c. Summer 1947), heating service centers/furnace shops Ferris Heating Co. (June 22, 1946-August 26, 1947), Ludington Heating Co. (August 27, 1947-late-December 1950 [relocated to 808 Diana St.]), laundromat Economy Laundry (January 19, 1951 [originally located at 615 S James St. as Economy Self-Serve Laundry]-October 12, 1955 [relocated to 513 S James St. and reopened on October 21, 1955]), furniture and home appliances store Mattix & Parsons (April 19, 1956-c. July 1957), shoe repair shop John's Shoe Repair (July 6, 1960 [originally located in Manistee]-c. 1974), martial arts centers Nu-View Health & Karate Studio (1975-early 1976), Nu-View Studio (early 1976-1980), and electrical contractor and supply shop T.W. Electric (April 2, 1981-1990's); the second half of the building (316 S James St.) used to house a clothing store The Style Shoppe (until c. mid-May 1925 [{store partially destroyed by fire around mid-April 1925} relocated to 127 W Ludington Ave. and reopened on May 19, 1925]), dairy shop Ludington Dairy Co. (December 9, 1926-c. mid 1928), taxi service center Todd's Taxi (May 18, 1930 [originally located at 615 S James St.]-c. late 1930), barber shops F.J. Wheeler (c. late 1930-c. April 25, 1931 [relocated to 310 S James St.]), Louie Lallea (c. mid 1931-c. mid 1930's), paper and grocery store Ludington Paper & Salt Co. (c. late 1930's-c. 1941 [relocated to 239 E Dowland St.]), furniture store Todd's Furniture/Todd's New & Used Furniture (July 17, 1945-October 20, 1947 [relocated to 418 S James St.]), clothing stores The Bargain Shop (c. mid-November 1947-January 3, 1948), Matt's Liquidating Service (January 22, 1948-February 1948), Matt's Liquidating Store (February 1948-c. mid 1952), Matt's Family Clothiers (c. mid 1952-c. late-February 1956 [relocated to 314 S James St. {building demolished around the 1980's} and reopened on March 15, 1956]), Dixie Cream Donut Shop (May 1, 1956 [originally located at 609 N Washington Ave.]-c. March 3, 1959 [relocated to 601 N Washington Ave. {space shared with Bob's Snack Bar} and reopened on March 5, 1959]), take-out restaurant Ye Olde Fish Shanty (July 22, 1959-c. early 1960), heating service center/furnace shop Modern Heating (c. mid 1960-c. December 23, 1963 [relocated to 603 S James St. and reopened on December 26, 1963]), restaurants Nite-Owl (Grill)/Night Owl (Grill) (c. early-April 1964-May 1971), C&S Cafe/C&S Restaurant (June 14, 1971-September 23, 1972), Ju-Ron Restaurant/Juron(s) Restaurant (September 26, 1972-February 13, 1975), Jim's Diner (Valentine's Day, February 14, 1975-c. late 1976), hobby shop Family Hobbies and Crafts (April 16, 1977-c. 1978), and snack bar Ludington Snack Shop (c. 1978-1990's); the second floor of the building was an apartment from around 1910's until around 1980's.

Two building spaces were combined together into one whole building space again in the 1990's after T.W. Electric and Ludington Snack Shop both closed its doors. Ye'Al Come Back Cafe occupied this entire building from that same decade until around mid 2008. The current cafe was opened around November 2008 by owner and waitress Brenda Cole. After M. Hansen & Co. Cigar Factory closed its doors around 1910's, this building has hosted over 33 businesses (13+ in the building's first half and 20+ in the building's second half) for over 100 years! Today, you can still see the company name in capital letters that reads "M. Hansen & Co. Cigar Factory" on the top of the building's north wall, which is now faded and weatherworn. So this building has a piece of history!

You’ve probably seen Brenda Cole during her years of waitressing at the Corner Cafe (now Cafe 106) in Ludington where her customers could always depend upon her fast, friendly service.

In October 2008, she purchased the former Ye'Al Come Back Cafe and made dramatic changes throughout the business. Brenda's Harbor Cafe is now a non-smoking restaurant with a brand new nautical decor. The clean, cheery atmosphere reflects the fast, friendly service Brenda is famous for. To illustrate that point, the wait staff wears captain hats and promise "smooth sailing" throughout your meal.

Her restaurant features hearty breakfasts, senior portions, children’s favorites, all served promptly with a smile. Popular lunch items include sandwiches, homemade soups, and homemade pies.

In October 2010, she added a mural on the exterior wall of her restaurant (located at the north wall of the building), making it the 12th mural in Ludington. The title of the mural is Water's Edge, it was painted by artist Therese Soles between July 2010 and September 2010. It is a 19th century scene of Stearns Park featuring a ship approaching the shoreline near the lighthouse, two women walking (one holding the umbrella), and three children playing in the sand. The mural was placed over the faded advertisement murals Nite Owl along with a picture of a moon, an owl, and words that read "Open All Night" on top (painted in April 1964 for the restaurant Nite-Owl, which occupied the building's 2nd half from around mid-April 1964 until May 1971), Farr View Dairy along with a picture of its brand logo which shapes like an Interstate highway sign that contains a star on the bottom, words that read "All Star" on the middle, and its slogan that reads "Good For You And Baby Too!" on the bottom underneath that logo (painted in the 1960's), and the nearly-vanished potato chip advertisement which contains only the words in capital letters "Potato Chips" (painted around the 1940's).

316 S James St.
Ludington, MI 49431
Ph: (231) 845-7434
Web: www.brendasharborcafe.com/

Hours
Sun, Sat: 6am-2pm
Mon-Fri: 5am-2pm

External links
www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/lu...
otheplaceswego.com/family-friendly-dining-ludington-mic...
ludington.lakeshorecelebrations.com/stories/the_colorfu...
www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/mu...
www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/va...
www.masoncountypress.com/2012/01/10/positive-outcome-fo...
www.flickr.com/photos/19218669@N00/14735446450/ (photo of the current mural)
www.flickr.com/photos/19218669@N00/17013477461/ (photo of the current mural)
www.flickr.com/photos/eridony/4470776221/ (photo of the faded old mural)
www.flickr.com/photos/eridony/4470776825/ (photo of the faded old mural)
www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/wh... (former Ye'Al Come Back Cafe)
www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/lo... (former Ye'Al Come Back Cafe)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=kIxkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5UsDAAA... (former T.W. Electric)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=8M5OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J0oDAAA... (former Family Hobbies and Crafts)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=345aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JEoDAAA... (former Jim's Diner)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=3o5aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JEoDAAA... (former Jim's Diner)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=ro9aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LEoDAAA... (former Ju-Ron Restaurant)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=sexOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C0wDAAA... (former C&S Cafe/C&S Restaurant)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=cKZaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K1ADAAA... (former John's Shoe Repair)
newspaperarchive.com/ludington-daily-news-jul-22-1959-p... (former Ye Olde Fish Shanty - bottom right)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=eFJOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dzwDAAA... (former Dixie Cream Donut Shop - bottom left)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=aZtOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rUIDAAA... (former Mattix & Parsons)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=PVFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OTwDAAA... (former Mattix & Parsons)
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=b0M2c_1WBrUC&dat=1955101... (former Economy Laundry)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=8o5OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qUIDAAA... (former Economy Laundry)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=cKFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uUIDAAA... (former Matt's Liquidating Service/Matt's Liquidating Store)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=_Z9OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qkIDAAA... (former Todd's Furniture)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=YbNOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rEADAAA... (former Ferris Heating Co./Ludington Heating Co. - top right)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=XrNOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rEADAAA... (former Ferris Heating Co./Ludington Heating Co.)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=bNxYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dTwDAAA... (former Ferris Heating Co./Ivanhoe Archery Shop)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=atxYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dTwDAAA... (former Ferris Heating Co./Ivanhoe Archery Shop)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=QYtSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cjsDAAA... (former Wayt & Son)
newspaperarchive.com/ludington-daily-news-mar-25-1931-p... (former Wayt & Son)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=kAwKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mzsDAAA... (former Todd's Taxi)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wp5OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gkIDAAA... (former Ludington Dairy Co.)
news.google.com/newspapers?nid=b0M2c_1WBrUC&dat=1925050... (former The Style Shoppe)
news.google.com/newspapers?id=cKkmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gUIDAAA... (former The Style Shoppe)

Facebook
www.facebook.com/brendasharborcafe/

Foursquare/Yelp
foursquare.com/v/brendas-harbor-cafe/4df23cfd18386ecb4e...
www.yelp.com/biz/brendas-harbor-cafe-ludington