“The Meeting Place in Grand Marais’, the Blue Water Cafe, has been sitting at the corner of Wisconsin Street and 1st Ave West since the 1970s. Before that, the building has always been a popular eatery in Grand Marais. The restaurant was a traditional American eatery- with pancakes for breakfast and burgers for lunch and dinner. However, in 2024, new ownership brought an Indian flair to the restaurant which now offers authentic Indian dishes alongside the traditional American menu.
Tony’s Eats and Du Nord
Longtime residents and visitors of Grand Marais may recall that Tony’s Eat, a small eatery with just a few stools at a counter, started the building’s life back in the 1940s. Though small, Tony’s Eat was incredibly popular, starting the trend of the site being home to a series of successful restaurants.
In the 1950s, it was known as Du Nord. As Du Nord, the restaurant grew as an addition built onto the original building allowing for a larger kitchen and more dining space.
In the 1960s, it was known as the El Ray Cafe. A remodel of the entire building updated the decor to include booths.
Becoming the Blue Water Cafe
Finally, in the 1970s, the cafe was purchased by Micheal and Sharon Rusten. The Rustens also owned Cascade Lodge at the time, and the name was changed to Blue Water Cafe. In 1985 the restaurant was expanded to include a second level, known as the Upper Deck. This was to increase seating even more as the popularity of Blue Water Café grew.
The restaurant changed hands a few times before being purchased by Dan and Melodee Riddle in 2005. They undertook an extensive remodel of the exterior of the property. They also closed down the food service in the Upper Deck and converted the space into a vacation rental.
They also purchased the pie recipes and equipment from the now-closed Pie Place restaurant. Along with the creativity of owner Dan Riddle, the Killer Berry pie quickly became a local favorite and Blue Water became known as having the best pies in Grand Marais.
Same Name, New Owners, New Menu Items
Then, in 2023, the Riddles announced their retirement and the passing of the restaurant to Satinder (Sam) and Sarabjit Baines. The name Sam Baines may be familiar to recent visitors of Grand Marais who were able to enjoy Sam’s Corner in the Marathon Gas Station. Sam and Sarabjit purchased Marathon in 2022 and started selling their authentic Indian dishes on weekends out of the gas station. In 2023, they expanded to a food truck in the empty lot across the street but had set their sights on purchasing a local restaurant to operate their food service.
Things were looking up for the Baines’ when in April of 2023 they had a pre-purchase walk-through of the original Sydney’s Custard and Wood-Fired Pizza restaurant. Tragically, that same day a fire devastated the restaurant. With the purchase of Sydney’s falling through, the couple then turned their attention to Blue Water Cafe just as Dan and Melody Riddle were looking towards retirement. They took ownership on November 1, 2023.
The new ownership came with the promise of offering authentic Indian cuisine in Grand Marais all year round. In February 2024, that promise came to fruition. Alongside the traditional American-style food offerings you can now order from a wide variety of Indian food offerings. So if you are missing Sam’s delicious meals from the food truck and Sam’s corner in the winter months, miss it no more! Indian Food is available on the Blue Water menu year-round!
So head on over to Blue Water Cafe and enjoy a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu, including authentic Indian food alongside your Blue Water favorites. Hours may vary, so be sure to check out their website for current hours and menu. Located in downtown Grand Marais, Blue Water Cafe sits just steps away from the Lake Superior shoreline and the Grand Marais Harbor. You can’t miss it.
Listen to our 2019 interview with Dan and Melodee Riddle on “The Pies of Grand Marais” episode of
“Exploring the North Shore”: