Miner-Dunn — Restaurant in North Township

A tedious disease deprived me of my mobility in 2010; I’ve been wheelchair-bound since. Nevertheless, I’ve learned to live with my disability, to get along in the world with help from my wonderful wife and the kindness of strangers.

Regrettably, on Friday, 04 August 2023, the front-of-house staff at the Highland Miner Dunn made a spectacle of and humiliated me in such a way that I, for the first time in my life, was made to feel truly crippled.

Upon arriving at the aforementioned establishment, my wife and I were led to a booth by a waitress who implied I should seat myself therein. My wife explained to the young lady that I was unable to rise from the wheelchair and could not, therefore, occupy the proffered booth.

A long, uncomfortable interval ensued as the waitress—apparently flummoxed—said and did nothing.

Seizing the initiative, my wife inquired after whether she and I might be seated at one of two nearby, eminently unoccupied tables.

“Those are for parties of eight-or-more,” the waitress mechanically replied.

The mounting awkwardness drew, naturally, the attention of the restaurant’s diners, a few of which were kind enough to avert their eyes.

Attempting to mitigate the mounting weirdness, I maneuvered my wheelchair to the edge of the booth to which my wife and I had been initially led, only to find my legs wouldn’t fit beneath.

“That’s not going to work,” my wife quietly said, seeking to spare me further unwanted attention.

“You can sit there,” the waitress suggested, pointing toward an even less wheelchair-accessible corner booth.

Motioning again toward the vacant tables, my wife stated: “If we can’t sit there, we’re going to have to leave.”

“Okay,” the waitress said, shrugging with easy indifference.

Being wheeled out of Miner-Dunn under the weight of diners’ furtive glances and whispered comments was at once objectifying, debasing, and infuriating. A modicum of hospitality, empathy, professionalism, flexibility, or creativity on the part of the waitress or a restaurant manager could have mitigated or precluded entirely the spectacle to which my wife and I were reduced.

As a single seat could not be found for me, I cannot speak to the quality of Miner-Dunn’s food. I can, however, and do emphatically assert that my wife and I were treated with abject indifference by the establishment’s staff, and that we left the place feeling more like a punchline than two people who’d come looking only for a meal.

The handicapped—the wheelchair-bound in particular—would do well to resolutely eschew Miner-Dunn’s Highland location. I wish I had better to say,...

The food is decent here! Tasty burgers and excellent REAL French fries. And boy is that Orange Sherbet the BEST after your meal.

Tonight we ordered carry out. I ordered a bacon burger with BBQ and fries. And a slice of cherry pie.

The burger was great except no lettuce tomato or onion. A few slices of bacon and no BBQ sauce. The fries were tasty and fresh.

The cherry pie was decent. It could have cooked a little longer.

Oh and the orange sherbet is missing. I guess you don't get this with a carry out order.

AND...the next time I went...

Another WINNER here is the Roast Beef Dinner - it's savory roast beef w/gravy over bread and served with a veggie. So good. I ate this so fast. It's best with the fresh cut french fries on the side, which were made just as I was leaving so they were SUPER HOT!

Love this place so much.

OH - and their Strawberry Pie is back! This is heaven! GET IT!

The service is super friendly, quick, efficient and not only do they have plenty of parking, but the building is still very authentic without a lot of major changes.

I also got the Western Cheeseburger with onion rings. This time the burger wasn't the best. It's like they used a different patty for the burger. However, those ONION RINGS - I wish they would offer a combo of FRIES & RINGS - that would be awesome!

I've been here so many more times! Eating IN and CARRY OUT. I also should mention the Potato Soup is one of my favorites. Pure...

Edit Since my original review, I have been back & that hasn't happened again since that post. Upgrading from 2⭐ to 4⭐ I ordered the chopped steak to-go today for my lunch break. Turned out to not be chopped or steak. It was more like ground beef in the shape of a large hamburger patty & didn't come w/ a knife (large as in, wide, but about the thicknes that ranged btwn a regular & thinner hamburger).

I was told by the girl that took my order that the mashed potatoes are good but failed to mention the gravy. I didn't realize til I got back home that the potatoes were drowned in gravy. And I really do NOT like gravy. I'm not usually so picky, but gravy is just one of a few sauces that I won't eat. & that gravy had made its way thru the container, all thru the bag, onto most of the other food, I tried to spoon it off but ended up throwing away the potatoes & green beans & some of "steak" bc of the surprise gravy I didn't ask for or want.

Probably not going back any time soon to pay another $12 for a meal where someone decides to randomly drench most of my food in surprise sauces I don't care for so I end up throwing most of it away.

On the plus side, the mushrooms & onions & parts of the meat that didn't have gravy on em, were...