"We, as your friends and neighbors, as foodies, cooks, world travelers, entrepreneurs, and customer relations and business professionals, offer to give you a fair but candid evaluation of our entire dining experience all while we enjoy time together on an evening out."
Our First Breakfast Review!
When one of Nancy's GVSU Seidman College of Business graduate students, Nathan Bair, asked if the Divas would ever consider a breakfast review, we were right on board and decided some homemade comfort food was in order while the wintry weather raged on. We don't need to don our fancy-schmancy attire every time we dine out, and we really enjoy our local hometown favorites. Kelle immediately thought of Suzi's Village Inn located in Fruitport for the occasion. Why? She said the food is consistently delicious with generous portions, reasonable prices, friendly service, and they always keep your coffee cup full. Oh, we must mention they have a few gluten-free selections on the menu as well.
Four of the Divas were unable to make our Monday morning breakfast debut in February due to out-of-town travel or work schedules. Since it was Nathan's idea, we decided he should be a part of the review and bring one of his best buds, Paul Jabaay, who is also a graduate student at GVSU. It ended up being a great idea and so much fun having two Divo reviewers on board (so we feel quite sure we need to do this again in the near future!). Did we mention they are regular readers of our reviews? So to Bari, Carla, Suzanne, and Melody - eat your hearts out (pardon the pun)!
It was a first time appearance at Suzi's for everyone except Kelle. Our server, Lindsay, was very friendly and attentive. Since the Divas don't announce the fact that we're doing a review, we had a few questionable looks as to why we were taking pictures of eggs and bacon! Speaking of bacon, it doesn't get any better than this - no fatty pieces and plenty of it.
When Paul told us he is a certified biscuits and gravy connoisseur (in five states!) we anxiously awaited his response, so you'll have to read his comments to find out what he thinks about this homemade version! We have to admit that the high calorie count was only mentioned once, followed up by Paul saying, "I've been up since 5:00 am and already went to the gym." So we thought he deserved the full order of biscuits and gravy. Kelle got a half order and said, "I plan to exercise later and savor every bite for now."
Everyone walked away with a feeling of complete satisfaction and a thumbs up to the staff at Suzi's Village Inn. You can't miss it on the main drag in Fruitport with plenty of space for parking. In case you miss breakfast, they serve lunch, and close at 2:00 pm everyday.
While on our way to the cash register to pay for our breakfast, we saw a woman with her laptop and payroll cards sitting at a corner table. We assumed she might be the owner, so we decided to introduce ourselves and let her in on our upcoming review. We asked Jenny Locke if she would give us a little history on this Fruitport gem!
"The restaurant has been standing since 1946 and has had a few names. In 1986 my mom became manager of Village Inn with an agreement of ownership in five years. In 1991 she became the owner and renamed it Suzi's Village Inn.
When I was 13 years old, I started working at the restaurant waiting tables. I put myself through nursing school and was an RN for seven years before my mom passed away in April 2004. I decided to keep the restaurant going and officially bought the restaurant from my mother's estate in February 2005.
Our customers are like family. Some of our customers are second and third generations. Most of our employees have been here for years. Lyndsay Randall, your server, has been an employee for two and a half years. She recently got her bachelors in nursing degree from GVSU and passed her state boards. Now she is in the doctorate of nursing program at GVSU.
Many of our menu items are homemade, including the gravy for our biscuits and gravy. We receive fresh baked bread from HodgePodge Bakehouse in Muskegon. We run daily breakfast and lunch specials and our soups are homemade daily."
Breakfast Reviews by:
"I ordered the Sheep Herders’ Breakfast ($6.75), one of the Village Inn’s specialties, which the menu describes as “Two eggs fixed any way you like them, served on hash browns with onions and Cheddar cheese, and your choice of ham, bacon or sausage, and toast.” I chose fried eggs (over easy), bacon and sourdough toast. The bacon was thick and smoky-good. And with the gooey melted cheddar cheese, the hash browns were so yummy that I declined to add even a dollop of ketchup (something I usually do). In fact, everything was delicious!"
"I've made several visits to Suzi's Village Inn the past few years I've been in Michigan and certainly enjoy the consistently good breakfast and friendly service. I tend to be a creature of habit when I like something and order the same thing - two eggs over easy, crispy hash browns with onions, bacon, and gluten-free toast. So I got it again and it didn't disappoint! Our server, Lindsay, frequently checked on our table (she didn't know we were doing a review) and kept our coffee cups full the whole time. Even on a busy weekend, there is always someone walking around with a coffee pot refilling cups. I don't usually order biscuits and gravy (for diet reasons only), but couldn't resist getting the half order since we had been talking about it. So yummy and very filling!
A few days later (Saturday) I met my mother, sister, cousin, and his wife for breakfast around 8:30 am. This time I decided to try the Village Stacker and couldn't believe how much food was sitting before me. I could only eat half of it and told the others that two people could easily split it."
Nathan Bair is a Spring Lake native with a love of breakfast. He works at Grand Valley’s, Seidman College of Business in the Management Department.
“Breakfast at Suzi’s was excellent. Since everyone else got ‘exciting’ dishes, I decided to go with the standards: scrambled eggs, sausage links, and a pancake. The scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly, the sausage was flavorful, and the pancake was a just the right amount of fluffy! And of course there was the added bonus that my coffee cup never had a chance to go dry (and that’s saying something!)…Also, I might have snuck a bite of the savory biscuits and gravy, which can hold their own against anyone else’s!”
Paul is currently finishing up his MBA from Grand Valley State University. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, he spent most of his childhood summers camping at the lakeshore state parks with his family. He intends to continue the tradition with his family one day.
"Breakfast at Suzi's Village Inn is something to be experienced by all on the lakeshore. I came into the humble setting with no expectations and left with a stomach beyond satisfied and taste buds craving more. As per my usual breakfast order, I must always try the sausage biscuits and gravy. It is by far my absolute favorite meal in the morning and I have eaten it all over the country. Needless to say, I had some high hopes for this sausage gravy and boy did Suzi deliver! Their sausage gravy is undeniably one of the top 3 candidates for best sausage gravy I have ever tried. Thick chunks of breakfast sausage with an excellent smokey brown color, and a light flavoring of sage which complimented nicely the sausage flavor. Just spectacular!
The meal I ordered was a concoction I have never had before: first layer was fresh sourdough toast, layered with perfectly crispy hash browns, smothered with some of the best sausage gravy this side of the Mississippi, topped with some scrambled eggs. All I can say is WOW! The portions were just... huge, enough for me to take home for a second meal (which was just as good warmed up, and left me wanting to go back for more). Needless to say, I will definitely be coming back as it was totally worth the 30 minute drive from Grand Rapids!"
Diva Tips:
Be sure to bring check or cash since they don't accept credit cards!
Check out The Michigan Strawberry Salad ($6.50) that's pictured on the Village Inn's website. It looks amazing!
Suzi's Village Inn
340 N. 3rd Avenue
Fruitport, MI
Monday - Saturday 6 am - 2 pm & Sunday 7 am - 2 pm
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The Divas want it to be noted, with all due respect, that the views and opinions shared in this venue do not represent those of the Grand Haven Tribune and are entirely based on each individual experience we encounter. Perhaps on any other occasion, they may differ.
