Willie's Rear — Restaurant in Garfield Township

My wife is a big breakfast fan, so when we travel, we like to eat out at least once rather than eating the included breakfast at our hotel. Willie’s Rear was our choice.

The restaurant sits at one end of a string of store fronts. We walked up the steps only to discover that you don’t enter the front of the restaurant. You got it - you go in the rear (technically on the side towards the back).

My first thought was there’s no room in this place. The kitchen was to the right with a counter and then there were a handful of booths on the left. I then noticed the sign on the opposite wall indicating there was additional seating down the hall.

Our server was attentive and friendly. She seated us immediately, gave us menus and then grabbed our drinks. We soon had our order delivered to the cook.

My wife usually orders coffee, and our waitress made sure her cup stayed full. She was constantly joking with us and the other customers, probably one of the friendliest waitresses I’ve met.

Our food came out shortly. I ordered two eggs, toast and Jim’s potatoes along with bacon. I normally don’t go for potatoes, but for some reason, I thought since Jim put his name on them, they’re probably good, and that they were. I was disappointed, though, that I paid an extra $5 for the bacon only to get three strips. While it was good with a smokey flavor, I don’t know that I’d pay the extra for it.

My wife ordered Brent’s mess and Jim’s potatoes. She also enjoyed her meal.

We also had two sauces on the table - Hot Willie’s and Special Sauce. Honestly, I thought both tasted pretty good, but there wasn’t anything on my plate I felt needed the sauce, although I dipped a few potatoes in the Special Sauce.

We had parked out front, but I did see some parking behind the building as well.

For the service and the price, I’d recommend this place. The food was good, and it was just an all around nice diner to enjoy a...

Classic old school diner with a northern small town ambience and decor. We are glad that we gave this place a try despite not having many photos. Coffee was fresh, mild, not too strong and not weak, the waitress was attentive in a subtle way, not overbearing or too talkative, but to the point and pleasant. The omlette, breakfast quesadilla, potatoes, toast and the house sauces were fresh and tasty. They had cabin style walls with cabin decorations and little signs at the booths to encourage conversation over using phones and that was a nice touch. The whole place had a nice calm ambience which is great when you're trying to have breakfast and to wake up. We were able to have a booth in the front part where you can also have a view of the area where breakfast is made. Everything was clean and smelled nice. We will have this place in mind when we're in...

It's a great place to get food, drink coffee, and enjoy your company. It's not a place to try to special order everything, complain about patrons, or fuss about the parking.

This is the type of place you come to eat. Get Brent's Mess and Jim's Potatoes and you'll walk away happy. The prices are really outstanding, especially in Traverse City. Jim will take care of you, just make sure you're ready to walk around the back...