(734) 483-8200
18 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti, MI 48197
www.haabsrestaurant.com
Our first stop was a place called Haab’s Restaurant. Haab’s is a well-loved landmark in Ypsilanti, and in October every year on their anniversary, people come from far and wide to stand in line. Why, you ask? As a way of saying thanks to the entire community, Haab’s does something pretty extraordinary. They roll their prices back. Way back to 1934, and they serve up three great dinners at prices you just won’t believe.
On that special day, owner Mike Kabat always shows up in full top hat and tails. He started this tradition back in 1981, and he’s keeping it alive for all the right reasons. Back then, as a way of saying thanks to its loyal customers for supporting Haab’s during tough economic times, Mike decided to give back. So he rolled the prices back to when the original Otto Haab opened the doors there in 1934. Get this: the chicken dinner basket was fifty cents, the spaghetti dinner only forty cents and the barbeque sandwich a measly twenty cents.
Well, it wasn’t long before the aroma of the food got to us (like we need an excuse to eat) so I sat down with the crew and enjoyed a complete chicken dinner for only forty cents. The real shocker came when they brought the bill. Our table of four ate for $2.12. Incredible.
You’ve heard the old expression, “You are what you eat.” Well, at Haab’s Restaurant, they are what they serve, and that’s a ton of community spirit. Every town should have a restaurant with a heart as big as Haab’s. As for the prices, thank goodness they don’t keep them that low year round, or I’d be a Tom and a half.