Orrs’ Restaurant Honors Horses
By Leslie Rott

Server and bartender Karuna Linkhart, manager Ronica Clapperton, bartender Travis Vartanian, and server Darcy Wood stand ready to serve the Island community at the new Seabiscuit and Grog Cafe on Main Street.

Horses are a large part of Island culture and Debra and Sandra Orr, lifelong Island summer residents, decided to use horses as an inspiration for their newest Island restaurant, Seabiscuit and Grog Cafe, which officially opened May 18.

The restaurant is named after Seabiscuit, a famous race horse Debra Orr described as “a little horse with a big heart,” and Grog, the name of Seabiscuit’s half-brother and another name for spirits.

Ms. Orr said the restaurant is “in honor of all types of horses.” She described the comfortable restaurant as a “cozy cafe,” with the feel of Central Perk, the cafe in the television show “Friends,” and she hopes patrons feel like it’s a second home.

Patrons can dine on European bread sandwiches, a variety of soups and salads, and gourmet coffee and slushes. With their variety of sandwiches, the Orr sisters hope to attract a diverse crowd to the full service establishment.

The restaurant will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., for early lunch to late night snacks. It can also handle private parties.

Ronica Clapperton, who manages Seabiscuit and Grog Cafe, said that feedback from customers about the restaurant has been positive since it opened and that many customers have told her that they plan to stop in again on their next trip to the Island.

Seabiscuit and Grog Cafe is nestled on Main Street between Martha’s Sweet Shop and the Trading Post. The building has housed the old First National Bank of St. Ignace, Edison Sault Electric, and Maeve’s Arts and Antiques and, according to Debra Orr, the building was purchased with the bank’s safe still intact. Not only do the Orr sisters have a history with horses and the Island, their new restaurant has a history of its own.

The Orrs have loved horses for as long as they can remember. Seasbiscuit and Grog is a tribute to their parents, Rex and Betty Orr, for giving the Orr sisters an opportunity to ride horses all their lives. “It was the best childhood anyone could ask for,” said Debra Orr; “great parents, a beautiful place to live, and horses.”

Growing up behind Fort Mackinac, where Dr. Rex Orr served the Park and the Island as the veterinarian, horses were an everyday part of life.

Ms. Orr said that the restaurant “presented a great opportunity to honor horses, the true kings of Mackinac.”

The restaurant was built by Marshall Brothers of St. Ignace and decorated by Debra and Sandra Orr.