Two Popular Grand Rapids Breakfast/ Lunch Restaurants Have Been Sold, Now Under New Ownership

Where's YOUR favorite place to grab breakfast in Grand Rapids? Two restaurants that usually come up in that conversation have just been sold...

Real Food Cafe is now under new ownership.

Get our free mobile app

Even before I moved to Alger Heights three years ago, I heard high praise for Real Food Cafe "downtown" Alger Heights on Eastern Ave. I LOVE breakfast food and Real Food Cafe definitely does it right! The line out the door on weekend mornings is proof of that! The food is delicious and homemade and the portions are HUGE. They have all the classics like omelets, skillets, benedicts, and different egg combinations, but also unique recipes like banana granola pancakes and strawberry Nutella waffles. We can't go there with my Mom without leaving with some delicious items from the bakery too, like a slice of their coconut layer cake or chocolate peanut butter pie.

There is another Real Food Cafe on Plainfield Ave. I've always heard great things about it too!

Frank and Renee Amodeo opened the first restaurant in 2000 at 2419 Eastern Ave and then opened a second location originally on Northland Dr in 2006 which relocated to 3514 Plainfield in 2016. According to their website,

Real Food Cafe is, and always has been, a labor of love for owners and operators Frank & Renee Amodeo. They put their hearts and souls into making a restaurant that is the kind of place they can be proud of and would want to eat themselves. The food is just as the name says: real food, made from scratch.

As of November 17, the two beloved breakfast/ lunch restaurants are under new ownership: Real Food Cafe is now a part of the 4GR8Food brands of restaurants managed by Restaurant Partners Management LLC.

Founder and President of Restaurants Partners Management LLC, Jeff Lobdell, shared the news to Facebook,

It’s with great joy that I’m announcing that the Real Food Cafe, with locations on Eastern Avenue in Alger Heights and on Plainfield in Grand Rapids Township, are now a part of 4GR8Food brands of restaurants managed by Restaurant Partners Management LLC effective today.
The “Real Food Cafe” locations are award winning breakfast and lunch eateries which are some of the very best breakfast places in all of West Michigan. Real Food Cafe is operated by loyal longtime staff members who work together as a team to serve their patrons and community. There are a lot of great similarities of these local treasures that can be compared to many of our local favorites and award winning places.
Together our 4GR8Food brands and these wonderful establishments will continue to serve our communities and provide hospitality, nourishment and safe gathering places for the neighborhoods we all operate in.
Please join me in welcoming the Real Food Cafe Restaurants and their amazing staff to the Restaurant Partners Family!

So, at least for now, it doesn't sound like any major changes will be made to the Real Food Cafe restaurants.

4GR8Foods Brands owns about 20 restaurants across Michigan, including the Beltline Bar in Grand Rapids, Boone's Prime Time Pub in Sutton's Bay, and The Flap Jack Shack in Traverse City.

Some of the company's more recent acquisitions include Rockwell’s Republic downtown Grand Rapids and Red Geranium in Kentwood and Wyoming in 2016, and Noble Restaurant in Wyoming and Apache Trout Grille in Traverse City in 2018.