The Rowe Inn's fine dining heritage

Albert “Wes” Westhoven, Proprietor
Wes is truly a restaurant brat. Born into a restaurant family, his parents had a country club restaurant dining room. He began as a dishwasher at 10, became a Prep and Garne Mange at 12, a line cook at 14 and, finally, a chef at 16. His dad and mentor died in 1968 as he was finishing his MBA in Hotel & Restaurant Management at Michigan State University. Afterwards, Wes became General Manager and Maitre’d at the hotel. His mom retired in 1972 and he had “had it” with the country club - and wanted a place of his own.

Wes decided on purchasing The Rowe Inn (a chicken and burger place) in the culinary wasteland of Northern Michigan. He introduced a simple concept: the ambiance of a French country inn, fresh local ingredients, French techniques and casual dining. The Rowe Inn still adheres to those same basic principles after 36 years. Wes sometimes believes he must have been crazy – committing to all those years with four foundational philosophies – but it’s those same principles which bring the Rowe Inn such success as the superior fine dining restaurant in Northern Michigan.

“We pioneered fine dining in northern Michigan. We’ve been blessed with glowing reviews and a host of awards including DiRona, Triple A, Gourmet, and Food & Wine. But the most important thing has been to make our customers happy while putting great food and wine on their tables. I think we accomplish that with both pride and honor."