It happened so fast that I completely missed it! The restaurant located at 5200 Portage Road near the Kalamazoo airport closed its doors for good after serving their guests one final time for Mother's Day brunch.

It turns out I wasn't the only one who missed the memo. I only heard about the area's latest restaurant loss after several local residents pointed it out on Facebook. Tina Bowman asked,

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I can't find anything about what happened to Cafe Meli, did they close for good or just doing updates? What's going on?

Marc Dorene Gettys Doerschler:

For everyone that eats at Café Meli on Portage Road, it's closed!! Our mailman told us today

How did this one slip through our fingers?!

If you weren't familiar, Cafe Meli was a family restaurant that referred to themselves as "Portage's best-kept secret." Although it was most popular for breakfast, the café also served lunch and early dinner for their guests before closing daily at 3:00 p.m.

Though there hasn't been any official word on social media or the official Café Meli website and a recent attempt to call the phone number listed for the cafe led to a full voicemail box. Many residents have speculated as to what led to the restaurant's closing:

  • Marc Dorene Gettys Doerschler - "...the owner told one waitress he was closing and that was it."
  • Mary Patton-Marciniak - "They closed for good Mother’s Day after they served all the guests employees were notified the night before...I heard several of the employees are going to the new Viva restaurant when it opens."

The restaurant first opened in 2013, so I suppose this establishment had a good run. Café Meli will surely be missed!

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