Another longtime Michigan restaurant is about to become a memory.
Clara’s on the River in Battle Creek has announced it will permanently close after brunch Sunday, September 6, ending a 34-year run in one of the coolest restaurant buildings in Michigan.
Clara’s opened June 8, 1992, inside Battle Creek’s former Michigan Central Railroad Depot. The depot itself dates all the way back to 1888 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Soldiers passed through here on the way to serve in both World Wars, long before anyone was stopping by for brunch.
For generations of Battle Creek families, Clara’s became a destination in its own right, known as much for the historic building, antiques, and riverfront seating as its huge menu…