Libby’s Downtown

Part of Cheboygan’s Main Street renaissance

By Geri Dietze | Dec. 10, 2022

Libby Davis is a big part of the Cheboygan scene, and she’s come full circle from where she began; the original Libby’s Café, in operation until 2008, was right across the street from the new Libby’s Downtown. “I’m so excited to be back…for another go,” she says.

The longtime restaurateur and culinary entrepreneur brings her own brand of energy and style to this eponymous breakfast, lunch, and dinner venue, a new presence on Cheboygan’s revitalized Main Street corridor. (Libby’s ribbon-cutting was in September of this year.)

The menu is big and eclectic, without trying to do too much. Rather, the focus is on quality and integrity: Meats are roasted in-house and hand carved. Homemade breads are thickly sliced. House-made sauces, marinades, salsas, and dressings add an elevated finish.

Libby’s interior is industrial chic, with enough warm, rustic elements to make it cozy and inviting for about 70 diners. A small bar offers extra seating. Lining the walls is a brilliantly-colored display of art with a fairly unusual provenance thanks to Davis’s Chicago-based boyfriend and partner. When their business meetings became heated, she would be inspired. “Every time I got mad, I’d go online and shop for art,” she says with a laugh. (The partnership is solid. “He’s a huge part of this,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without him.”)

Davis’s menus are both inspired and practical. “Always think different,” she says. And, while Libby’s Downtown is not officially a Mexican restaurant, it offers a good selection of authentic Mexican dishes to satisfy the cravings for those times when nothing but really good Mexican flavors will do. “There was no Mexican [food] anywhere around here,” Davis says of her decision to lean into the theme.

This south-of-the-border influence carries over through nuance and inventiveness into many of the menu items, adding small, unexpected flavor surprises. Plus, generous portions are a given and are important to the ethos of Libby’s Downtown.

“If I’m going to ask someone to pay $15 for lunch,” Davis says, “I want that person to leave full.” (Or with tasty leftovers in a take-out container to enjoy later.) Great service is another part of the equation, and the servers at Libby’s Downtown are highly regarded.

Breakfast and Lunch
Try the charcuterie-inspired Southern Breakfast Board, currently featuring Belgium pearl waffles, country-style fried chicken, Plath’s bacon, deviled eggs, and sides of maple syrup and strawberry fig jam. Or fill up with the Corned Beef Hash Skillet, complete with roasted peppers and onions, Swiss cheese, two eggs any style, and swirled rye toast, plus a side of Thousand Island dressing, a finishing touch that makes perfect sense.

Biscuits and Gravy is amped up with cheddar jack buttermilk biscuits and chorizo sausage gravy. The antioxidant crowd loves the acai bowls with granola and assorted fruit. But sometimes, one must leave willpower at the door and indulge in a serving of Nutella Bread Pudding, a chocolate dream with marshmallow glaze and graham cracker dust.

On the lunch side, think classic salads—the Wedge with blue cheese and bacon, or the Caesar with spiced croutons, for example—plus homemade soups including Cream of Corn, Sweet Potato Chili, and Sausage Potato. (Soup is available in flights because sometimes it’s too hard to choose just one.) Bigger appetites should try the Kobe burgers or Bill’s Yacht Club, featuring three tiers of turkey, ham, roast beef, cheddar, and bacon. The Reuben, on homemade swirled rye, regularly evokes superlatives.

And let’s not forget those Mexican influences: The South of the Border board holds three shrimp tacos with agave-sriracha-lime glaze, chili mayo, and salsa fresca, plus chips with pico de gallo, and Fiesta Tots with jalapeno and bacon. In a nod to other cultures, try the Gyro with shaved beef and lamb, the Chicken Curry salad in tomato wrap, or the Frenchified Philly cheesesteak with au jus.

Dinner and Drinks
In addition to Mexican-influenced starters, quesadillas and street tacos join entrees such as a Flatiron Steak with Michigan cherry port reductions and chimichurri butter. Or try Salmon Veracruz, with ancho spice, tomato caper ragu, seared chili-garlic shrimp, bacon cheddar tots, and Mexican crema.

A huge favorite is the bone-in, brown-sugar-brined pork chop with jalapeño, bacon, and agave glaze. (The chop is not as big as, say, your arm, but still pretty darn big.) Customers rave. “It’s the all-time favorite,” says Davis.

Special features have included Stuffed Dover Sole with spinach cream, steak with blue-cheese walnut butter and a red wine agave, and Pasta Roma, Italian-style veal and pork meatballs, served over Michigan-made herb pappardelle pasta, roasted vegetable ragu, and Asiago cheese.

Another big draw is the Italian-made wine dispenser holding 16 bottles at a time. The cooler is perfectly calibrated to protect the vintages and to dispense 2-, 4-, or 8-ounce pours. It’s an attention-getter and a conversation-starter, with a flexibility that any wine lover would appreciate.

Unfamiliar with a vintage? Try a 2-ounce pour. On a budget? Enjoy a glass of fine wine without paying for a full bottle. For example, a Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, retailing at $240, is not often sold by the glass, but a pour from the dispenser makes it a heady possibility. Cocktails, plus regional and national beers, round out the bar scene at Libby’s Downtown.

Pie!
Yes, that’s pie with an exclamation point. To give you an idea of the popularity of Libby’s handmade pies, she sold 45 just for Thanksgiving alone, and patrons in the know call ahead to avoid disappointment.

This is how home baking is supposed to look: heavy, rustic, piled high with filling, and encased in a thick, hand-formed crust. And when the bubbling juices spill over and bake into the edges, all the better. If we were lucky, we grew up on pies like this, and what a nice thing to see them again.

Similarly, Libby’s quiche is not the dainty, ladies-who-lunch slices we’re used to. This is rich and thick and creamy, loaded with blends of cheeses, meats, and veggies. (Served with a cherry chop salad.)

In addition to being menu staples, Libby’s baked goods fly out the door, and to accommodate the pie, cookie, and pastry traffic, her baker has moved right next door to Rosalee’s Bakery, providing more space to service this growing business.

Find Libby’s downtown at 411 N. Main St. in Cheboygan. libbysdowntown.com, (231) 445-9122. Winter hours are Monday and Tuesday 9am-4pm, Wednesday-Saturday 9am-8pm, and closed Sundays.