At 7 a.m. sharp on Wednesday, Aug. 1, Lynn’s Cafe in Brighton, a community fixture for 36 years, will open in a “back to the future” move that will see long-time employee Betty Gerecke taking ownership of the popular eatery with her brother, Tim Gerecke.
Gone will be the Scotty Simpson’s fish and chips, replaced by items popular back when Lynn’s was owned by Lynn Bishop.
“We’ll be basing our new menu on the box of Lynn’s past recipes,” Betty Gerecke said, adding that Bishop will be contributing some new recipes, as well.
Gerecke’s relationship with Lynn’s began when she was a student who worked at the original location on Main Street in downtown Brighton, which suffered a devastating fire in 1991.
“Even when I didn’t work (at Lynn’s), I was friends with the family,” Gerecke said. “That means I’ve always been either a customer or an employee.”
Over the years, the restaurant has gone through various owners, and when it came up for sale recently, Gerecke — a familiar, friendly face to Lynn’s customers — knew it was time to buy.
“This is something I can do,” Gerecke told herself. “I go with my gut, and I work hard. This is not just my job; this is my life, so I invest more of myself in it.”
The restaurant will close for a couple days for a thorough cleaning, and it will reopen with an earlier opening time of 7 a.m.
“We’ll see how that goes, and we might even move opening to 6 a.m.” Gerecke said. “We’ll be serving mainly breakfast and lunch-type things,” Gerecke said, adding that closing is tentatively set for 4 p.m.
There will also be a slight change in name, though Gerecke isn’t sure what it will be exactly. A popular idea is to call it Lynn’s Off Main Street.
One thing of which she is sure is that she wants to keep the feel of the original eatery.
“This is something I can do to relate back to how things were and connect people,” Gerecke said. “We make people feel welcome, like they want to come back.
Her co-owner/brother plans to add a board featuring photos of old and new customers under a sign that reads: “Welcome to Lynn’s, where you come in as a customer and leave as family.”
Lynn’s Cafe is located at 180 N. First St. in downtown Brighton. Call (810) 227-5284.
