Traditions / History


1948 was the year the late Norman LaBelle decided he would have more fun running a restaurant than selling used cars, and the result was the opening of the Pixie Restaurant. Complete with car-hop waitresses and great inexpensive food, the Pixie quickly became a popular place with both the local population and the fast growing enrollment at Central Michigan University. The Pixie is still the cornerstone of our company 60 years later!

1972 saw the creation of the Sweet Onion Restaurant, whose original menu was built on a limited selection of soups, sandwiches and dinners. Two years later, the Mt. Pleasant Big Boy Restaurant was added followed by three more locations. Soon Ponderosa Steakhouses joined the LaBelle team with three locations. In 1980, a second Sweet Onion location opened, this time in Midland, Michigan.

In 1987 the company assumed operation of the Michigan Division Cafeteria at Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan. Eight more Ponderosas rounded out the Ponderosa Division. Since those early days nine additional Ponderosas have been added. 1995 is the year that we added the Italian Oven Restaurant located in Mt. Pleasant. Our restaurant division took a major growth spurt with the addition of Bennigan's Irish Pub. Our initial location, Mt. Pleasant, was so successful that we have since added several more.

The hotel division took birth in 1989 when the Comfort Inn opened in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. We now have six hotels in our portfolio - one Fairfield Inns & Suites, located in Mt. Pleasant; two beautiful hotels, the Grand Beach and Sugar Beach Resort Hotels, in Traverse City, Michigan;one Super 8 located in Mt. Pleasant, and the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Big Rapids, Michigan. The hotel division will continue to grow steadily. The Real Estate and Development Division in our company is equally as active as the Hospitality Division. We own several retail malls, apartments, and office complexes in mid-Michigan. Over the past few years this division has added tremendous diversity and stability to our already solid foundation. In the last several years we have developed 2 condominium projects in Traverse City, Michigan.

Today's company, although much bigger, over 30 restaurants and hotels, and more diverse than our early beginnings at The Pixie, still revolves around the same core values that made us successful. Our over 1,800 employees still share the deep commitment to each community and truly live our mission statement "To Always Do the Right Thing".