Homespun has permanently shuttered its doors, days ahead of the expected closure date.

The Battle Creek breakfast hotspot closed on Friday, January 22, 2021, after struggling to keep up with a final push of customers trying to order their favorites one last time.

Deborah O'Connell has worked for 18 of the restaurant's 36 years starting in 2009. The building, located at 210 East Columbia Avenue near Riverside Drive, was initially built to be a Sambo's Restaurant. The now defunct chain was reduced to a singular location after the company filed for bankruptcy in the early 1980s, the original Santa Monica, Ca. location. Which has since changed to a "Chad's Cafe" as of November 2020.

Like many who worked in service-related jobs, that at least for the time are in less demand, Debrah worries that at her age it will be hard to find another job to replace it. Like many who found their hours reduced, she took up a part-time gig shopping for those stuck at home. Debrah also worked at Battle Creek's Pancake House for numerous years before moving over to Homespun. The Pancake House is also struggling to remain in the community amid the ongoing pandemic and related state orders.

Governor Whitmer announced on Friday, January 22 that due to a drop in statewide COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, restaurants will be able to open to in-restaurant dining on February 1, but with heavy restrictions.

The announcement is too late for the owners of Homespun which had turned down numerous lucrative offers to sell over the years. The owner sites the pandemic related orders that closed restaurants as the final nail in the coffin for the locally owned restaurant.

TSM/Lacy James
TSM/Lacy James
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