One kitchen in Hersey and three more a five-mile drive west in Reed City — what to order, real hours, and when to skip it.
Four tables worth the drive, and only one of them sits in Hersey. The village runs about 347 people at the last census, dropped where the Hersey River runs into the Muskegon, on the old Pere Marquette rail line. Lumber money built it and then left. What’s here now is one kitchen inside the village limits — everything else on this list is the five-mile run west to Reed City, about ten minutes on US-10. Start where you’re staying.
In Hersey
River Junction Bar & Restaurant
107 Main Street. The only place to eat in town, and it does enough to be worth staying for. Dining room up front, bar and grill in the back, and a stone oven running most nights — you smell it before you’re through the door. Order the pizza. Then come back on a Friday for the fish fry, because Friday is the night the lot fills before six and the fry is the reason. Burgers come off a flame grill. Steaks get cut in the kitchen, portions run big enough that leftovers are the plan and not the accident, and most of it is made from scratch for the money. The bar side gets loud on a weekend. The front room stays quieter. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday noon to 8, Friday noon to 9, Saturday 10 to 9, Sunday 10 to 8 — closed Monday. Service can run hot and cold with the staffing, so go early on a Friday if you want the fry without the wait. (231) 832-4544.
That’s Hersey. Now the drive.
In Reed City, five miles west
Reed City is the bigger town — a real main street and more than one dinner in it. A Chinese buffet, a couple of sports bars, a coffee stop. Three of them are worth writing down.
Seven Slot Grille
113 North Chestnut. Breakfast and lunch, all day, no dinner — this is the morning room. A long list of pancakes, five breads baked in the building, sub and burger buns made from scratch, soups that turn over by the day. Walk in and the place smells like a bakery, because it half is one. The Reuben has a following. So does the gyro omelette. Open 7 to 3 most days and dark on Wednesday, so don’t build a Wednesday breakfast around it. (231) 832-9211.
The Bridge Coffee Shop
758 South Chestnut, south end of town, with a drive-through. Coffee, bagels, egg bites, pastries out of the case. Not a sit-down meal — this is the stop for a travel morning when the car’s half packed and you don’t want to sit down at all. Warm cup, cold parking lot, back on the road.
Buckboard Bar & Grille
108 West Upton. A bar first and a grill second, and the grill holds up — real-beef burgers, the Mushroom and Swiss, corn bites to start. The catch is the calendar. Closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Open Wednesday and Thursday 11 to midnight, Friday 11 to 2 in the morning, Saturday from noon. Regulars flag the hours as unreliable, and a closed sign posted with little notice is a known hazard here. Call before you point the car at it. (231) 832-0434.
Know before you go
- Hersey has one restaurant. The rest is the Reed City drive.
- Seven Slot is breakfast and lunch only, and closed Wednesday.
- Buckboard keeps short, shifting hours and stays dark the front of the week. Call first.
- River Junction is closed Monday. Friday is fish fry, and Friday fills.
Four tables, one of them a short walk from the water. For the shape of the town and where the homes sit, the Hersey page lays it out, and one of our Michigan cabin rentals, Golden Valley Retreat, puts you a few minutes from River Junction’s lot. If you want the country around it, the “Things to do near Hersey” note covers the rest.
Friday, before the fry.
Topics
Nearby stays in Hersey
Same region, same standard.