In 1977, Margaret Balmer began waiting tables at what was then called the Douglas Dinette. In 1980, she & a fellow co-worker purchased the Dinette from their boss & started down the road of self employment. She had switched gears from waitress to grill cook and within a short time Margaret had bought out her partner and continued to put out some of the best home cooked meals around.

For the next several years she had worked countless hours behind the grill serving fisherman & local blue-collar workers. As a single mother running a restaurant, she raised her son Matt within the family business. She instilled in him the importance of cooking from the soul & always treating those around you with kindness & respect. These are the attributes that allowed her to successfully run the Dinette for many years.

Matt, having grown up in the restaurant had ventured away from the family business to work in other area restaurants as well as in Florida. Upon returning from Florida, Matt had met Esther, his future wife; who had encouraged him to go to Grand Rapids Community College's Nationally recognized culinary arts program, to further his abilities.

After Matt finished school in 1997, he & Margaret teamed up once again and formed a partnership that would transform the little diner on the corner into Everyday People Café. Today, E.P.C. no longer serves large platters of goulash or a 1/2 baked chicken for $4.95, but it still serves food that is cooked from the soul & served with kindness and respect. The very same attributes that continue to be the cornerstone of the family run restaurant.