This list of Ann Arbor's no longer existing restaurants provides capsule reviews and descriptions of the departed diners, struck out steak houses, bygone bakeries, and dearly beloved ex-donut shops of the local landscape.

Sources

Whenever possible the list is marked with dates. Some useful sources for historical restaurant information include periodic discussion in the Ann Arbor Townies discussion on Facebook, and the Marketplace Changes column in the Ann Arbor Observer.

Jessica Webster put together a photo set, Take a look back at the restaurants of Ann Arbor's past, with help from Amy Cantu of the Ann Arbor District Library in December 2015.

Annual restaurant guides, when available, help pin down dates.

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A

B

C-E

  • Cafe Alfonso, a short-lived 1992 era gourmet Italian place, later home to the Cloverleaf, Liberty at S Fourth
  • Cafe Creole 111 Catherine at Main. Featured a Sunday New Orleans jazz brunch.
  • Cafe Luwak in Ypsilanti's Depot Town
  • Camelot Room, inside Inn America; "Gracious Dining in an Exotic Atmosphere"; Washtenaw at Huron Parkway.
  • Campus Grill, 808 S State (1975)
  • The Central Cafe, where Middle Kingdom was for a long time; now a Greek place.
  • Chances Are, 516 E Liberty (1975); renamed Second Chance after trademark dispute

  • Charlie White’s Restaurant, East Liberty where Necto is now.

  • Chatter Box Restaurant on S State in the Hill-State-Packard triangle
  • Cherry Blossom, Japanese food in a former Chi-Chi's on S State near Ellsworth
  • Chianti, where Rush Street is currently - a short-lived Jimmy Schmidt venture.
  • China On The Run Packard at Woodlawn; most recently, Pocai.
  • Chez Crepe, 328 S. Main (briefly a restaurant called “328 S. Main”), now Prickly Pear)
  • Chi-Chi's on South State near Ellsworth
  • Chubb's South State St student dining hall in early 20th century.
  • Cleveland's Gill & Grill: 311 Main St. where The Jolly Pumpkin was last seen
  • Continental For anyone who worked on State in the late 1980s, the Continental was the lunch spot.
  • The Corner House, corner of Thayer and Washington. A tearoom that closed in the mid 60's.
  • Count of Anti-Pasto Corner of S. University and Church, above Good Time Charley's. Either late 70s or early 80s disco-era restaurant with great pasta and pizza. Used to be quite popular and mysteriously closed.
  • Cracked Crab, 112 W. Washington, where Cafe Zola is now
  • Curtis Chicken in the Rough S. Main Street, Very nice cafeteria, inexpensive, Greek-owned.
  • D'Amato's, 102 S 1st St
  • Damon's, closed in 2013; sports bar and barbeque east of Briarwood Mall.
  • De Long's Barb-be-cue Pit, 314 Detroit St. Became Mysore Woodlands, which became Teriyaki Time.
  • Delphine's in the Sheraton University Inn on Boardwalk near I-94.
  • Del Rio, Inc., 122 W. Washington, now part of Grizzly Peak.
  • Delta Restaurant, 640 Packard Rd; Greek food and pizzeria; later Happy's Pizza; now Craft Breww City.
  • Denny's at Liberty and Division above Community Newscenter. The first eatery here was called the Pan-Tree.
  • Depot House, 416 S Ashley in the old Ann Arbor Railroad depot (1975)
  • The Derby Bar on Ann
  • Diamond Head Cafe in Kerrytown
  • Dinersty on Liberty across from the Federal Building
  • Dino's on South University Where Steve's Lunch was across from Village Corner (Breakfast). Now Rich JC.
  • Don Carlos briefly on South Main--originally on Detroit's west side. Until real Mexican food came to Washtenaw County, their sincronizada was one of the better Mexican dishes around
  • Donburi, on State where Totoro is now (replaced by Hinodae)
  • Dooley's, 310 Maynard (now Score Keepers)
  • Drake's, 709 N. University. Now a Breugger's Bagels.
  • Dunkin Donuts, 300 S. Main (now a Starbucks)
  • Dynasty Buffet, Chinese buffet, closed 2011; in Glencoe Crossing.
  • Earl of Sandwich, N. State near Liberty. Previously Einstein's Bagels. Next All About Blue, a sports clothing store.
  • Eastern Accents - 214 S. 4th Ave. Asian bakery and cafe. 1996-2013. Now part of Mongomery Houze.
  • Eatos Burritos, in the Tally Hall food court
  • Eden Foods - have I got that right? - on Maynard where Madras Masala is now. Hippie buffet and coffee shop.
  • Einstein Bros Bagels, S. State Street; place was vacant for over a year before Earl of Sandwich went in.
  • Elevation Burger - 529 E Liberty St and 3365 Washtenaw Ave
  • Elixir Vitae, Maynard St, across from Nickels Arcade. Closed 2019; a previous store on E Liberty St closed earlier, replaced by Roos Roast. 
  • Escoffier, Thayer (Before Escoffier took over the space on Thayer in the Bell Tower Hotel, it was called the Stage Door, going after the theater crowd from Hill and Lydia Mendelssohn and Power Center).
  • Espresso Royale, multiple locations. The chain closed in 2020. Coffee, pastries, sit down with wifi and do your homework.
  • eve, in Kerrytown; run by Eve Aronoff, who started Frita Batidos as eve was closing
  • Everett's Drive In, 2280 W. Stadium Blvd. Have a "California burger" (with avocado).

F-G

H-I-J

  • Hinodae, on State where Totoro is now
  • Holly's Steak and Four, on Washtenaw near Platt; future home of Satchel's BBQ
  • Hommus Expresss at 529 East Liberty St, middle eastern food, closed 2014
  • Hot N’ Now at 2300 Washtenaw. Was briefly Ice Scapes and Momie Soul Food after it closed in the mid 90s. 
  • Howard Johnson at 2600 Washtenaw
  • Ideal Restaurant, "Steaks and chops our specialty", 117 E Washington St
  • Indian Summer, State St. (Also known as Govinda's -- and much earlier had been known as The Virginian. The Indian Summer sign is preserved inside the Produce Station, above the produce.)
  • Jason's, where Mr. Greeks is now, on State St. Owned by Koreans in the 90's. Smoking section in basement. Great sandwiches and ice cream. Great peach ice cream, BLT w/avocado.
  • Jefferson Market on Jefferson.  Retro styled convenience store with a gourmet lunch/dinner counter in the back. Replaced by Jefferson Market and Cakery, a cake bakery.
  • Joe’s Star Lounge
  • Joe Joe's next to the People's Food co-op, run by a very sweet Greek woman named Irene and her husband, who I believe was Joe Joe. When they had leftover ripe bananas, you could fill a bag for a buck. It's now No Thai.
  • Jolly Tiger 2080 W. Stadium Blvd. Originally Sambo's Restaurant (chain) in the 1960's, then rebranded as Jolly Tiger in the early 1970's. Oddly, it was changed back to Sambo's in the early 1980's rebranded (again!) with a character named "Family Sam," a friendly senior citizen chef. Now Holidays Restaurant.

  • JoJos in the ring around the mall 625 Hilton

K-L

M & N

  • Magic Pan at Briarwood near Sears. Later became Ruby Tuesday and is now California Pizza Kitchen.
  • Mahek, Indian buffet on E Washington St
  • Mallis Steak Out, W Stadium at Liberty; afterwards, La Pinata
  • Manali Cafe, Indian. On Washington at 5th where the Blue Nile expansion is now
  • Mandarin 625 Hilton...in the ring around the mall...that used to be Jojos. in its early days it was actually quite good, with some unusual dishes
  • Manikas, S. Main Street, very good simple food, Greek, I miss it still; Nick Manikas now operates the Classic Cup Cafe on Jackson Road in Scio Township; Shalimar now occupies the S. Main Street location.
  • Mantels at the Briarwood Hilton. "We'll take you back to the good times, when elegance and gracious dining were savored... and expected."
  • Maru, Korean food at the corner of Thompson and William
  • Maude's, 314 S. 4th St.; closed after 20 yrs, then briefly Arriba; subsequently Studio 4 ; now vacant
  • McDonald's next to the Arcade, erected 1976, architects Hobbs+Black of Ann Arbor, won architectural awards, torn down to build the Collegian Building
  • McDonald's near South University and Forest (currently Bubble Island)
  • McDonald's on W Stadium, now Lewis Jewelers
  • Menna's Joint, 607 E. William St; closed in 2016 after two years
  • Metzger's, 203 E. Washington - now moved to Scio Township. Building now is the Arena
  • Michigan League Cafeteria, 227 S. Ingalls - known for "International nights" on Thursdays
  • Middle Kingdom, S Main St - Chinese food
  • Mitch's On South University where Bicycle Jim's was
  • Mr. Flood's Party West Liberty Street, now the West End Cafe
  • Mr. Rib, N. Main St. at Summit, then Packard, then somewhere out by the airport; Soul on a Roll sandwich
  • Mr. Steak near Washtenaw - Stadium intersection
  • Mr. Tony's - Corner of State & WIlliam
  • Monkey Bar on Main St. (Andy Gulvezan)
  • Mountain Jack's near Westgate, a steakhouse, with wine on tap
  • Moveable Feast, West Liberty St., in the former Odd Fellows' Hall; became Daniel's on Liberty (Daniel Huntsbarger)
  • Mysore Woodlands a vegetarian Indian place that replaced DeLong's BBQ pit.
  • Nikko's Pizzeria at the foot of Broadway. You would always get a cheery "Enjoy your pizza, OK?" with your pie
  • Northern Lights Danish sandwiches in Kerrytown
  • Not Another Cafe, South University at Forest, late 90s

O & P

Q&R

  • Quality Bar briefly where the Quality Bakery was, now Palio's
  • Quality Bakery, noted for its long johns, on S Main St; now Palio's
  • Quarter Bistro, closed 2019
  • Rax Roast Beef, upscale fast-food at South University and Forest. 80s. Afterwards, a campus version of Miki.
  • Red Bull 2222 Hogback, it is now Yotsuba
  • Red's Rite Spot, William, where Tower Plaza is now; Frank's is there now
  • Richard's Follies, 1113 E Huron, 1975. "Play pinball and win a sandwich".
  • Rio Wraps on E William, which never really replaced The Burro in that spot as a go-to place for Mexican food
  • The Round Table, West Liberty (a legendary townie place -- a favorite of judges, lawyers and bankers, but also visited regularly by a few academics from campus. Presided over by Evelyn Stack, who had been a waitress at the restaurant's former location, on West Huron (where a parking lot is now)
  • Road Runner in the ring around the mall...that used to be Jojos.
  • Robbie's at the Ice House is now Live at PJs.
  • Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on E Liberty St.
  • Roy’s Squeeze-In, next to the Beer Vault on Detroit Street, across from the Farmers Market. A tiny hole in the wall burger joint, with a sign outside that said "Capacity 5000 (8 at a time)." For those who miss the greasy minimalism of Roy's, there's still one in Ypsilanti (best place around to feel like you've stepped into an Edward Hopper painting) and one in Milan
  • Rubiyat now the location of PJ's live. Originally located on South Main, where Real Seafood is now.

S

  • Saco Taco, on William, at Thompson, in a former gas station (whose picture is on the AADL's signs site). "Peppy's/Biff's" was in there for awhile, also. For the last 20 years or so, the restaurant there has had 2 or 3 different Korean names, including Hur's; more recently Maru.
  • Sanders in Briarwood.

  • Schlotzsky's Deli 2365 Jackson Rd.

  • Schakolad Chocolate Factory 110 E. Washington street from 2002-2018

  • Second Chance, 516 E. Liberty, now Necto, formerly the Nectarine Ballroom; (First called “Chances Are” but had to change the name after a few years when they were told they were infringing on a national trademark.
  • Senor Lopez Taqueria, on W Stadium
  • Shahrayar on Maynard where Madras Masala is now -- its former owner, Ali Hijazi, own owned La Zamaan on State
  • Shalimar Cafe, on E Washington; Indian food, a second location of Shalimar
  • Smuggler's Inn, on Boardwalk across State from Briarwood Mall. Opened around 1979. Later the parent company changed it into the Bombay Bicycle Club.
  • Southside Grill corner State and Packard (640 Packard), circa 1986
  • Squares Restaurant closed 2011 where Dinersty and Yoshi's used to be; square sandwiches
  • Stadium Restaurant on State where Ashley's is now. Later renamed Bacchus Garden when owner Bill Lagos got a liquor license in the late 70s.
  • Stadium Tavern Basically a big white house, with gas pumps at one time. Across Stadium from La Pinata was this funky old townie bar. Way back in the day, when the bar first opened, it was in the country, on the outskirts of town. Third shift from the Pantree used to go there for drinks after their shift.
  • Stage Door (see Escoffier)
  • The Star Lounge which became Joe's Star Lounge
  • Steve's Ice Cream, corner of William and State, now a Jimmy John's; 80s ice cream mix-ins. Was a subway shop in the 1970s called …?
  • Steve's Lunch, 1313 S. University; now Rich JC; beloved bi bim bop
  • Street Scene Campus Inn.
  • Sun Bakery on fifth avenue, between Liberty and Washington. Delicious brownies and big gooey slices of whole-wheat veggie pizza. Was torn down to make way for a bank.
  • Sunflower Cafe, a vegetarian place on E Washtington St where Cafe Habana is now
  • Sweet Lorraine's, by Kerrytown, in the basement courtyard where The Metro most recently was
  • Sweet Memories Ice Cream Parlour on Jackson Road 
  • Sze-Chuan West on West Stadium, closed 2011

T-Z

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