Foodies announces closure on Facebook page

One of downtown’s most unique dining destinations has closed its doors to customers.

Last month, Foodies Fresh Cafe and Catering served its last customers, as owners Carol and David Heflin decided to close the popular downtown eatery after nearly five years of business. For the last several weeks, the only thing greeting customers walking past its location on Front Street has been a curtained off windows and door, and a notice posted on the restaurant windows announcing the closure.

The owners posted the following announcement on their Facebook page about the closure:

At 4 p.m. on Jan. 15, Foodies closed our doors.

Our lease has been up since August and the owners desire to sell the building instead of renewing a lease. We are housed in an old building and it has lots of needs; we just couldn’t imagine taking that on.

Secondly, our adult children spoke to us over Christmas and urged us to ‘retire.’ We have six grown children and grandbaby number 14 on the way. As much as we love Foodies it has robbed our family of the parents and grandparents they deserve.

And finally, as you may know I broke my foot in April and have dealt with constant pain after the long days required to keep Foodies going.

This is not an end, however, it is a new beginning. We will continue to enjoy cooking for friends, family and clients as caterers for meetings and special occasions. We are already working on securing kitchen facilities to ensure a smooth transition.

Thank you for your friendship, patronage and support. Dowagiac will always be special to us…. Carol, David, Alex and the Foodie family.

The restaurant first opened its doors to customers in September of 2010. Open for breakfast and lunch services, the menu focused on a selection breakfast dishes, sandwiches, salads and burgers made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

For the past several years, the Heflins have worked closely with the ACTION ministry network, with the couple working to help set up the organization’s food pantry, located only a few blocks away from the restaurant on Main Street. Carol was also the person responsible for creating the ACTION’s annual community Thanksgiving dinner, offering a meal inside the restaurant, free of charge to visitors.

“One of her dreams in business was to have a restaurant and not charge anyone to enjoy a meal there,” said Jeff Neumann, chairman of the ACTION board of trustees. “In doing the dinner, it was one of the ways she could live out that dream.”

The restaurant also frequently hosted fundraisers for the local food pantry, where a portion of the customer bills were donated to the organization. Carol was also a tremendous cheerleader for the food pantry and the organization in general, Neumann said.

“We’re going to miss her involvement and the restaurant for a long, long time,” he said.

While the board still has months of time to prepare for how to organize for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, one thing that can’t be easily replaced is the restaurant and its owners, who meant a lot to Neumann and countless others throughout Dowagiac.

“It was like eating at a friend’s place as opposed to eating inside a restaurant,” Neumann said. “We’re going to miss having them in the community.”

The owners of Foodies were unavailable for comment as of press time.