Family Matters at Burke’s Waterfront

Cadillac restaurant focuses on family ties and tasty food

By Greg Tasker | April 22, 2023

With its extensive American menu, lakeside setting, and friendly service, Burke’s Waterfront is a popular stopover for hungry tourists motoring along Route 115 through the outskirts of Cadillac. 

“The lake is busy all year,” says Mary Burke, who opened the nautical-themed restaurant with her late husband, Larry, nearly four decades ago. “The last three years have been phenomenal. I think people got tired of staying at home during the pandemic and want to be out and about. They’re feeling good, so they’re out.”

That longevity for a restaurant is no easy feat. Burke attributes the casual restaurant’s success to that extensive menu—“there’s something for everyone”—the waterfront location, the proximity to Mitchell State Park, regularly refreshing the dining room, and, perhaps most importantly, the emphasis on family.

The Family Business

Mary and Larry Burke, the latter of whom was already an accomplished chef and had worked at other restaurants in Cadillac, opened Burke’s Waterfront in 1983. It was his dream to have a restaurant; Mary helped him realize that vision.

“We liked the location,” recalls Mary Burke, who is a Cadillac native; her late husband was from Indiana. She describes him as a talented chef and a jack of all trades. “We had family and they wanted to be involved, so we jumped at the opportunity to be next to the water. Everything fell into place. 

It is a prime location: Burke’s Waterfront sits on 3.5 acres, 3 miles from downtown Cadillac and along a busy stretch of Route 115, which connects from U.S. 10 to Route 37 (to Traverse City) and Route 31 to Lake Michigan beach towns.

The couple had four children, so “the family-friendly passion naturally embodied the air and menu.” ​Over the years, the business has remained a family affair.

Helping Mary Burke—who does a bit of everything associated with running a restaurant, including bookkeeping and greeting customers—are her son Steve, who is the general manager; daughter Susan, who oversees the dining room; and daughter Pam and grandson Steven, who both work part-time.

One summer, Burke recalls, six of 10 grandchildren (some were too young) helped out at the restaurant. They bussed tables, rolled silverware, washed dishes, “whatever needed to be done,” she says.

“Bring the family home” remains the restaurant’s battle cry “because nothing connects families better than Lake Cadillac and cooking for everyone.”

That emphasis is prominent on the menu, where diners are welcomed by this greeting: “We understand what truly matters at the end of the day—family. That’s why we’ve honed and crafted our menu into something that everyone can enjoy including countless options.”

The Vast Menu

Countless, indeed.

The restaurant’s hearty breakfasts—everything from overstuffed country omelets to eggs benedict to lumberjack-inspired eggs, meat, and sides—have cultivated a loyal following of locals, hunters, snowmobilers, and boaters, as well as the after-church crowd on Sundays.

The lunch and dinner menus are a smorgasbord of American classics, including various hamburgers, Reuben, patty melt, classic club, Monte Cristo, and wraps. Entrees offer chicken, shrimp, seafood, and pasta dishes. And then there are salads and a selection of Mexican fare with burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and fajitas.

The appetizers, dubbed “Sailing Shareables,” include boneless chicken wings, French Onion Soup, white cheddar cheese curds, and fried pickle slices.

The menu standouts, known as the “Lumberjack’s Choice,” are the prime rib—fresh every day—and the steaks, which include a 12-ounce NY strip, a blackened 14-ounce ribeye, and an eight-ounce sirloin. The prime rib is hand-cut, marinated by hand, and slow-roasted in low temperatures. All the beef options are served with a fresh garden salad and a side of either potatoes or vegetables. 

The seafood offerings, “Neptune’s Net,” includes maple-glazed salmon, herb-crusted walleye, Michigan whitefish (from Lake Superior), and jumbo Gulf shrimp.

Noteworthy, too, is a selection known as “Lola’s Favorites.” Lola was Mary Burke’s mother-in-law, whom she describes as a fabulous cook. The recipes were Lola’s, and choices include Country Fried Steak, Roasted Turkey Dinner, Roasted Beef Dinner, and “To Die For” Liver, described as “a generous portion of tender top quality beef liver smothered with sautéed onions and crispy hickory bacon.” Lola cooked at Mary and Larry’s former restaurants, but never at Burke’s Waterfront.

Burke’s has a liquor license, offering customers a selection of Michigan craft and other beers, spirits, cocktails and wine, including one from Michigan, Black Star Farms Riesling. “It’s not a sit-down bar—mainly table service,” Burke says.

The Summer Rush

While the extensive menu is popular, Burke says the family is in the process of trimming the selection to ease pressure on the kitchen.

“We get really busy in the summer. It’s hard to get kitchen staff, so we’re trying to streamline things and be a little more efficient,” she says, adding that is no easy task. “Everything is so popular—we’re having a hard time deciding what to eliminate.”

Summer, unsurprisingly, remains the most popular season at the restaurant. The dining room windows afford panoramic views of Lake Cadillac; an outdoor deck, busy in the summer and fall, brings customers closer to the water’s edge. Guests enjoy frequent sightings of wildlife, including eagles, otters, muskrats, and jumping fish.

“There are spectacular views and some beautiful sunrise views,” Burke says, noting the restaurant opens at 7am every day except Thursdays, when they are closed.

“We have a great customer base,” she concludes. “It’s really a big family. We have people who have been coming here for years. They liked what they saw and kept coming back. I just talked to a lady from downstate who remembered stopping here several times a year when she was a little girl on her family’s way to a cabin Up North. Lots of customers have stories to tell.”

Find Burke’s Waterfront at 2403 Sunnyside Dr. in Cadillac. (231) 775-7555, burkeswaterfront.com