If a few hamburger aficionados happen to slip into a state of shock this fall we may have to nurse them through until the first of the year as another burger favorite steps away from the grill — this time only for expansion and remodeling.
Following closely on the heels of the last hurrah for Roxy Hamburger fans where operations ended late last month, the North Shore Inn of Benton Harbor will close down at the end of the month for a critical makeover to accommodate their incredible popularity. The shutdown starts in two weeks and could last a little over three months.
Anne-Elise Lansdown tells me that her beloved North Shore Inn will close at the end of September for a three-month remodeling and kitchen expansion project. That’s the bad news. The good news is that when the defacto champion in the world of hamburgers in Michigan’s Great Southwest returns in January, they will have nearly tripled their grill space, providing “plenty of room to cook more burgers,” as Anne-Elise puts it.
The North Shore Inn, located at North Shore Drive and Higman Park Road across from the 14th tee at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Club at Harbor Shores, has been swamped this summer. Anne-Elise says, “We’ve been extremely busy for the last year and desperately need a larger kitchen space.” The new larger kitchen space will nearly triple the grill and provide other long overdue breathing room for food prep at the popular burger joint.
The decision to capitalize on the post-season slow down has the unfortunate side affect of following in the footsteps of the final days and shutdown of the Roxy Hamburger Diner in St. Joseph after the sale of that building to Yoga Life operator Brooke Margherone of St. Joseph who is renovating the building for a much larger yoga studio for her business.
Lansdown bought the North Shore Inn from long time owners Tom & Nancy Howe late last summer after the Howes had operated the restaurant for 25 years there. The Howes had hand-selected their successor, Anne-Elise, a long time family friend, and sadly Tom died shortly after the public announcement of the sale.
The North Shore Inn is at a major crossroads within the Harbor Shores Resort complex with hole 13 of the Harbor Shores tractr high on the hill behind the Inn and hole 14 across North Shore Drive just beyond the Inn’s parking lot. The Howes bought the more than 125 year old road house in the winter of 1991 and polished it into a solid gem of a business, before turning it over last fall to Anne-Elise who has continued their outstanding tradition of crafting one of the world’s most popular hamburgers which gets mentioned at or very near the top of every poll, argument, discussion or other measure of “best places to get a burger” in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
Lansdown’s brother, Jay Fettig, is helping the family to dominate the neighborhood with his own highly successful business venture, North Pier Brewing across the street. Many of Jay’s craft brew fans combine his beer with his sister’s food offerings for a winning combo that continues the legend of the North Shore neighborhood.
The North Shore got some exterior upgrades late last year, but this marks the first major kitchen expansion in a long time for the popular diner.
Bottom line for now — if you want to get your North Shore burger fix this fall…you’re going to have to get in before the end of the month, because she’ll be closed to business for October, November and December, returning in January if all goes according to plan. Stay tuned.
