So that customers don't have to worry about walking through the construction zone, people may park in a city lot and then call Swedish Pantry for a ride to the front door. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Hoogerhyde)

ESCANABA — The beloved restaurant at 819 Ludington St. has been selling Swedish pancakes and meatballs for 47 years, and they’re not going to let the lack of a road stop them.

Amidst the major construction work in downtown Escanaba, there’s no longer parking in front of businesses between the sixth and 14th blocks of the main street. Keen to retain business even from those who find the change in access difficult, Swedish Pantry has introduced a shuttle service from parking lots to the restaurant’s front door.

Swedish Pantry opened in 1979 under the ownership of Steve (“Gus”) and Betty (nee Buckland) Maycunich, both “lifelong residents of Delta County,” according to newspaper archives. Betty, a proud and passionate cook, had reportedly begun catering in the area before the Maycuniches bought the Ludington Street building and remodeled it into the Swedish Pantry.

The restaurant was “finished in a Scandinavian decor,” served both Swedish and American cuisine “along with other ethnic specialties from time to time” and featured Swedish dinners on Sundays, stated a Daily Press article on Dec. 11, 1979.

The floral decorative touches known as “rosemaling,” a type of Scandinavian folk art, were painted by artist Joemma Mood, who had an art studio in Rapid River called Apple Barrel.

The food served at Swedish Pantry was high-quality and varied, wrote Pat Sayklly for the Daily Press in 1980.

“Deep-fried, pre-packed entrees turn me off. I like fresh food, nothing that’s frozen,” Betty was quoted as saying. “Creative use of leftovers… there’s a lot more planning involved, but there’s no waste.”

Betty’s cooking gained renown along with the restaurant. Visitors reportedly came up from Chicago raving about how they couldn’t get cardamom buns like hers in the city anymore. In 1983, the Detroit Free Press named Swedish Pantry as “one of five eating establishments in Michigan that are particularly enjoyable.” Betty’s recipes for Swedish rye bread, cream of broccoli soup, meat pie, bread pudding and more appeared in a book entitled “The Best of the Midwest,” compiled by Margaret Guthrie of Wisconsin and published by Amherst Press.

Betty operated the Swedish Pantry for 14 years before retiring. She announced the sale of the restaurant to Kim Cossette in the April 13, 1993 Daily Press.

“I want to wish the new owner much luck and my best wishes in continuing the traditions of ‘quality home cooking’ and excellent service that the Swedish Pantry has become well known for,” Betty wrote, issuing a “tack sa mycket” — Swedish for “thanks so much” — to her customers, staff and all who made the restaurant successful.

In the summer of 1996, the restaurant got a new color scheme — yellow and blue, reported the Delta County Chamber of Commerce.

Swedish Pantry retained its momentum, recipes, reputation and customer base under new ownership. In 2002, a travel writer by the name of Mike Michaelson wrote a focus on Delta Country, including the Swedish restaurant and two other local eateries, for an “Around the Midwest” segment that was published in the Chicago Daily Herald and the Indiana Post-Tribune.

The Swedish Pantry was a go-to gathering spot for luncheons, reunions and various gatherings.

In 2003, 22 members of a Swedish motorcycle club from the Stockholm area who had been celebrating Harley-Davidson’s 100th anniversary in Milwaukee rode up to Escanaba after seeing a billboard for the Swedish Pantry. They were reportedly quite pleased with the tastes of their homeland.

It was Betty’s initiative and recipes that launched the Swedish Pantry, and it was the efforts of the following owning family and all the staff that kept the place an Escanaba favorite for decades.

Kim Marie Cossette, who had purchased the restaurant in ’93, passed away in 2016. Her mother, Phyllis LaBranche, and sister-in-law, Jill Cossette, who had long been very involved in running the restaurant, continued keeping the place going. Lori Cossette was manager.

In 2018, a remodeling project brought the Swedish Pantry new lighting, tables, carpeting and bathrooms. More renovation was done when the place was closed during the pandemic in 2020.

In 2024, Kim’s son, Joshua Hoogerhyde, and his wife, Brittany, arranged to take over the restaurant from LaBranche. Ownership officially transferred from grandmother to grandson in January 2025.

The shift was barely noticeable, as the Hoogerhydes kept the same staff and recipes and aim to continue carrying on the legacy built at the Swedish Pantry over the last 45 years.

“I have no desire to change. It’s a perfectly-run restaurant the way it is, so we don’t want to change any of that and upset everybody,” Brittany said in an interview with TV6’s Barbara Bellinger just after she and Josh bought the place.

Though his mother and grandmother added a tiny bit of Italian flair with dishes like the spaghetti dinner, and Josh and Brittany have added a couple new baked goods, the favorites that Betty Maycunich served about 50 years ago are still the primary draw.

“The menu has not really changed… Between the Swedish meatballs, the potato sausage, the Swedish meatballs, and the Swedish dumplings — those are all original menu items from Betty,” Josh said last week. “Clearly, Cossette and LaBranche are not Swedish names, so we don’t have any Swedish descent in our history, in our blood whatsoever. We’re German, French, Dutch, Italian, so everything in the menu stays the same.”

Pancake mix from the Swedish Pantry has been licensed for wholesale since 2008, enabling people to buy the packaged ingredients around the Upper Peninsula or have it shipped elsewhere and cook their own Swedish pancakes at home. The bag makes 20 to 30 pancakes and costs less than a sandwich.

“There’s not much else in this world that you can buy something for that price and make that much food and feed that many people something that’s delicious,” Josh said.

The merchandise sold at Swedish Pantry is another memorable element of the place. A gift-shop-like collection of souvenirs, magnets, calendars, puzzles, clothing items from Blue 84, jars of lingonberries direct from Sweden and more adorn the lobby, while the walls of the dining area of the restaurant are clad with unique clocks and painting by LaBranche, all for sale.

There are two categories of clocks, Josh explained. The colorful, whimsical styles near the front represent a fun, decorative selection for lovers of cats, dogs, bees, birds, etc.

The second category, of which there are 12 remaining for sale at Swedish Pantry, are from a manufacturer called Rhythm, based in Japan, which recently ceased operations in the United States. They’re detailed, elegant, quality clocks that Josh said no buyer has ever returned or complained about.

Summer is the busiest time of year for the restaurant, like many places in the U.P. Tour buses and cruises brought lots of people in in recent years, but now, construction is keeping some potential visitors out of Escanaba.

In order for the existing businesses to pull through, though, they’re relying on customers to continue to patronize their establishments. At Swedish Pantry, the owners and staff realize that some people have mobility issues or simply aren’t up for walking a couple blocks, so a solution is available — a shuttle service to the front door.

People may park in downtown lots and call 906-786-9606 for a ride to Swedish Pantry in a four-seater gold cart.

There are three lots to choose from: “Behind Garceau’s, they were nice enough to less let us use their parking lot during this time of construction,” Josh explained. “There’s signage in that parking lot. The next one is at the southeast corner of Eighth Street, and there’s signage that says Lot One. There’s another lot right next to the Bonifas that says Lot Two.

“All people have to do is give us a call, tell us what lot they’re in, and we’ll drive down there and pick them up in the golf cart and bring them right to the front door. When they’re finished eating, we’ll take them right back to the car.”

For those who want to enjoy food prepared by Swedish Pantry for events elsewhere, the eatery continues to be a popular caterer for weddings, graduations, funerals and more.

“Despite the fact construction is going to be cumbersome for us to get through, we’re doing our best to do what it takes to get to get through it — with the knowledge that after it’s finished, this place is going to be completely different,” Josh said. “Downtown Escanaba is going to be completely different after this is all said and done, and I think it’s going to thrive.”

At present, Swedish Pantry is pantry is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. Though reopening for dinner has been discussed, it probably won’t happen until after Ludington Street reopens.

“We are doing our absolute best to try to get people here and to enjoy the excellent food that we serve on a daily basis, and we’re not going to stop doing our best. We’re not going to change the menu; we’re not going to change any of the fantastic products that we have,” Josh said. “We’re just going to continue to strive to do better and continue operations.”

Part of the Escanaba Central Historic District, the building that has now been the Swedish Pantry for close to half a century was erected between 1888 and ’89. According to the National Register of Historic Places, it was a hardware store, drug store, restaurant, grocery store, cafe and a series of bakeries before the Maycuniches bought it.

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R. R. Branstrom may be reached at rbranstrom@dailypress.net or 906-786-2021 ext. 140.