Community Highlights: Meet Nick & Hannah Swartz of Dilbert’s Cafe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick & Hannah Swartz.

Hi Nick & Hannah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Nick and Hannah are young couple in our thirties who both grew up in and around the restaurant and hospitality world — Hannah is born and raised in Maple City making her debut into the hospitality world as a dishwasher at Mistwood Golf Course at 14, a bag attendent at Manitou Passage Golf Course in high school and a server during the summers at Boonedocks in Glen Arbor for the next 12 years while she attended Grand Valley State University and on the side after graduation while she worked her “big girl” job. Nick, who has grown up in Lake Ann, started out as a bellhop at the old Holiday Inn, waiting on guests, carting them to and from the airport until he landed the ultimate fishing gig in Southwest Alaska where he spent six summers as a fly fishing guide. During the rest of the year while he attended college, for Sales and Business Marketing at Western Michigan University, he stepped in as a short order line cook and bartender at The Eagles. After college Nick and Hannah moved to Grand Rapids to pursue the careers they went to school for — Nick, a Freight Logistics Coordinator and Hannah Program Coordinator at the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, but quickly decided to head “home” when covid hit. Nick landed a job in the area at North Bay Produce continuing with freight logistics, while Hannah worked from home as a grant coordinator for the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan.
While we both were happy to have jobs that used our degrees, we both knew we wanted to get out from behind the desk and serve our community. Nick’s mom, Becky, had worked at Dilbert’s Cafe as a server the previous 7 years, and when Peggy, the former owner, mentioned she wanted to retire, she brought up the opportunity. With a ton of family support and experience — Hannah’s dad, Don, previously owning Sugar Foots Saloon, her brother Andy, previously owning Green House Cafe, her mom Julie, a seasoned server at Modes Bum and Steer and Nick’s parents, Barry & Becky, previously owning a bar in the Grand Rapids area, we decided to take a huge step out of our comfort zone and “seize the day”!
Dilberts Cafe has been called a community staple in the past and people have always loved the charm and good homestyle food that has been served. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and we have tried to do just that while adding a few cosmetic updates and new dishes as rotating specials, most notably the Banana Bread French Toast and Turkey Pesto Sandwich!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No road is totally smooth — we’ve hit bumps and rough patches along the way, but we’ve taken them as an opportunity to learn, adapt and learn from the community we serve. Finding the right balance between honoring the original charm and introducing our own flare has taken time and plenty of feedback, but we have enjoyed the ride. We’ve had so many returning customers tell us they appreciate how we’ve kept original feel alive while bringing new ideas and dishes to the table.

Looking back at our first year, the journey has been anything but dull — and we wouldn’t trade it for anything. The previous owner created something truly special, and we feel honored to build on that foundation and carry it forward.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dilbert’s Cafe?
Dilbert’s Cafe is a breakfast and lunch location with hopes to one day be able to offer a limited menu for nights.

We specialize in breakfast, our stuffed hash browns are crowd pleasers while anything corned beef related is also atop the order list. We slow cook our corn beef in house to ensure it meets our taste and quality standards.

We also have quite the following for lunch with Fridays being one of our busier lunch days with our fish frys (Cod or Perch) homemade coleslaw and fries. Nick has also been making homemade speciality meals on Fridays to give customers more selection of items they might not normally see on a menu like homemade spaghetti and meatballs or beef stroganoff to list a couple from recent weeks. We also offer a homemade pie or cake on Fridays.

We would want a reader to know we take pride in making our menu items in house per order and we do not send anyone home hungry.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Taking over this community staple has to have been the biggest risk we’ve ever taken! Both of us in our thirties, working steady jobs, and seemingly living a safe and comfortable lifestyle. All the while feeling the pull toward something that felt like ours.

When we found out this charming little restaurant – the kind of place you can’t help but fall in love with – was looking for new owners, we knew we had to take the leap. The decision wasn’t made lightly. We knew the hours would be long, the learning curve steep, and the stability uncertain, but we also saw a chance to really build something meaningful of our own, even if it meant leaving security for passion.

Our food on the other hand doesn’t scream “risk” it rather wraps you in a hug with well known comfort foods with recipes that have been around for generations.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dilbertscafe
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dilbertscafe