Up next is one of the most mom-and-pop places that I’ve ever been to, the Lake Cafe in Big Lake. Owned by Tim and Tammy Cox, Tim’s family purchased the restaurant in 1968. Unfortunately, six months after, his father, Ronald passed away. For the next 34 years, it was run by his mom, Ethel. Tim and Tammy purchased the restaurant when Ethel died in 2002.

I have been coming to the Lake Cafe for as long as I can remember. It was a family favorite, a tradition, and a go-to for “fancy” diner food. It was eggs Benedict, and pancakes for Sunday breakfast and where kids could indulge in burgers for good grades while the adults chatted over coffee cups and homemade chili. Lake Cafe is one of those spots that you can’t help but remember, and reminisce simply by closing your eyes. A place that smelled like your Grandmas’s kitchen – for all the right reasons.