Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Beckett. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Back in 2005, Josh Beckett was a regular guest at a small breakfast restaurant on the northeast side of Grand Rapids. He loved visiting Anna’s House and sitting at the snack bar having conversations with other guests and the owner, Becky. After finding out that Becky was interested in selling the business, Josh decided to purchase Anna’s House.
Since that time back in 2005, Anna’s has grown to 9 Michigan locations, soon to be 10. However, that growth took time. For many years, Josh and the team operated just the one small location on Plainfield Avenue. Josh took his turn working in the restaurant in various roles. “I found out that I was not good at many of the operations jobs in the restaurant. The team actually preferred that I didn’t work in the kitchen. From that moment on, I realized how important it was to have skilled restaurateurs in place.”
Thanks to a great team, Anna’s was able to develop some very creative and unique menu items like Twilight French Toast and Hippie Hash. Guests loved these items and business continued to grow at the small diner. In fact, Anna’s House won “Best Breakfast Joint” in Michigan from MLive in 2012, and since then, has won many awards ranging from Best Breakfast, Best Brunch, and Best Service at almost every location. In 2016, Anna’s House was also honored to accept the Heroes for Hope award for our work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Another important event that impacted Anna’s House history in a big way was the fact that in 2013, Josh encountered some health issues. His view of what he could and should eat started to change. He realized it was even hard for him to eat at his own restaurant. Josh and his wife, Erin, found out that there were many people who faced dietary challenges and had specific eating needs that made dining at a restaurant difficult. This realization started Anna’s House on a new journey to provide many dietary options on their menu. Today, guests will see choices that include gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and more on the menu. “We know that the dietary needs of our guests will vary and change over the years, so we want to continue to look for ways to offer quality dietary choices for every guest.” Beckett says.
Finally in 2014, after almost 10 years of owning the business, Josh opened the second Anna’s House on East Beltline on the SE side of Grand Rapids. It was at this time when the look and feel of Anna’s House really took shape. Working with a nationally renowned designer, the restaurant’s décor started to reflect the look of a retro diner. “We really wanted to create an atmosphere that was fun and welcoming to our guests. The lighting and bright colors, fun wallpaper, counter seating and oldies music, all contribute to the environment which is fun and cheery, “something I think we all could use, especially in today’s world”, says Beckett.
Today, there are 9 Anna’s House locations, all in Michigan (Plainfield, East Beltline, Grandville, Holland, Grand Haven, Kalamazoo, Okemos, Ann Arbor, and Westland). And, only a few weeks ago, a 10th location was announced which will open in 2023 in Milford, Michigan. Josh says “We are so excited to be able to become part of each of these communities. It’s nice to get to know our guests and serve them a tasty meal. We are also happy to be able to provide great job opportunities. We have wonderful team members who love to serve.”
While it’s nice to see the growth, we know that we need to continue to keep our focus on offering quality meals and dietary options that appeal to our guests. Being able to provide a fun, clean atmosphere where guests are served by smiling faces is what we aim to do every day. Please come join us as we “save the world from an ordinary breakfast.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running and growing a business is never easy. The struggles early on were more about who we were. What did we want to offer guests and what did they want? Over the years, we found a niche in the breakfast brunch space where we offered creative quality menu options. We also needed to figure out how to provide dietary options that appealed to our guests. This was not easy and continues to be a challenge. It’s not enough that a dish meets dietary needs, it must also look and taste good.
It almost goes without saying that Covid was also a big struggle. We had to close down not once, but twice. We didn’t know if our employees would be there when we re-opened, or even when we would be able to open again. We did some things to try to keep our team members engaged and most of them rewarded us by coming back. Hiring for most companies is still not easy, including us, but we’ve been fortunate to find and keep so many great people.
The third challenge has been sourcing products. Not only has the cost gone up on almost everything we purchase, but sometimes it’s a challenge just getting the item in the building. We’ve had to work with our vendors and suppliers to find alternatives that meet the expectations of our guests. We pride ourselves on offering high quality dishes, which begin with top quality ingredients. We appreciate the partnerships we have with our vendors, and we remain committed to offering high quality products for our guests.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Anna’s House is a retro-style diner that offers high quality breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Our menu is creative and fun, and we try to offer something that appeals to each guest. “We know that if a group comes to Anna’s House to eat, each person may have some unique dietary need or preference. We want each person seated at the table to be able to get a meal that tastes great and at the same time, meets their dietary needs.”
Our breakfast and brunch menu ranges from classic breakfast to unique culinary crafted entrées; Highlighted by our renown Anna’s House Cinnamon Roll, Twilight French Toast, and Breakfast Lasagna. We make it a point to offer numerous gluten-free and vegan items and strive to find the most quality and tasty foods, using only local cage-free eggs and offing all natural breakfast meats.
One of things we are most proud of is our team who serve our guests each and every day. They continuously go above and beyond to ensure a fun, friendly, and clean atmosphere. With so many concepts and restaurants looking for ways to serve you without any human contact, we’ve taken the opposite approach. We strive to provide guests a real person with a smiling face to help you have a wonderful breakfast experience.
What’s next?
The hopes for Anna’s House future is that we continue to grow. We would like to find additional future locations in communities that would benefit from our services and menu. While growth is a goal for us, we also want to grow slowly so we do it well. Rapid growth can be hard on a business, and we want to be certain we maintain our standards of providing great guest experiences at all of our current locations.
The other plans are to continue to offer dietary options that meet the changing needs of our guests. If anyone has a need or idea, please let us know. We love to consider new ideas and explore them to continue “saving the world from an ordinary breakfast.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.annashouseus.com
Image Credits
Josh Beckett
MBuck Studios
Hannah Sorensen
Alec Hawkins
