Empire Village Inn — Restaurant in Empire Township

This is a bare-bones place that I'm sure is essential to the locals. It definitely delivers some spot on comfort food. We had very few options on our trip and ended up here out of sheer necessity. We ordered a water, diet pop, and two sandwiches: burger with fries and a pulled pork with tater tots. Both sandwiches were $21 each and the drink $4...so that put us at around $49 with tax, plus a tip, we were right at $60 all in. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the food...it was was fresh, well prepared and seasoned, and we enjoyed it. BUT, $60?!? Holy moly. Talk about overpriced. $30 per person for a basic, staple kind of sandwich, frozen and fried potato sides and one fountain pop.......I definitely felt as though the prices were raised because of the proximity to the Sleeping Bear Dunes/tourist scene. All of that said, our server was extremely friendly and efficient. Our food and drinks came out quickly and, as I said, we enjoyed it all. My biggest complaint for atmosphere was that the tables were "sticky". They were clear of food and grime but the finish on them was not right and if you put your hand on them, it stuck to the table. It was very sticky, tacky, and unpleasant to the touch. We left with satisfied bellies, but definitely felt that we overpaid for such a...

This used to be my favorite spot to go to when we were up by the dunes and it's still good, but not worth going a long way out of your way for. So disappointed, they completely changed their menu as of Memorial Day weekend, 2022. I get it, there are supply chain issues that forced them to have to do this so I'm not criticizing their management or anything.

They had this one white pizza with bacon and chicken and I can't remember what else but they took it off the menu. They don't stock all the stuff it takes to make it anymore so they can't even just throw it together for you. They also used to have really good Brussels sprouts but they had to take those off the menu.

The staff here is so nice, and it's still the perfect place to get something to eat after you hike the dunes if you're right there (it's literally at the entrance to the lakeshore). Empire is a cool little town. If you're in the area I definitely recommend going, but unfortunately I don't think I'm going to drive 45 minutes out of the way to get there any more like I've done in the past. Still, really good...

An eclectic atmosphere for sure, the air was a little stale, the only ceiling fans being in the side that has the arcade games. The area next to that looks like it once had pizza and coffee, but is now just a visible mess of storage.

A little basement bar-like, but there's some punk flair that makes it comfortable for the millennial & GenX crowd for sure.

Lots of local beers and great foods like Brussels with bacon and burgers served with egg on them.

The food is good, but the price is a big hit to the rating, you'll see this noted in many reviews, and they're right. The food is great, honestly, but the place isn't as fancy as the prices would indicate.

The hand drawn menu is cool, but slightly difficult to read and a little cluttered, but as a millennial, I appreciate the sacrifice for the aesthetic.

Joseph took great care of us, great server, everything came out like it was supposed to and no drink ran empty. He was attentive, but not bothersome and great at his job, he gets a...