we're cuckoo about Crowes' Nest Café!
HOW OUR NEST HATCHED
Husbands and co-owners, Dave & Tom Crowe-Garey consist of part Pure Michigan, part California Flair. Opened in July of 2022, Crowes' Nest Cafe' has rather quickly become a staple in Napoleon Township on M-50, known for scratch cooking, great food, and an entertaining show on a busy day.
From burgers to biscuits and sausage gravy, or smoked corned beef for Reubens or hash, you'll be sure to get your money's worth...and take some home to dine again later. If you didn't get enough to eat, we didn't do our jobs good enough! You come in as a patron, leave as a friend. After visiting us again, you're considered family, so we might throw you a dish rag and have you hop on those piling dishes in the back. (We wish!)
Chef Dave has worked in and out of kitchens for 40+ years, and had long dreamt of opening his own restaurant, and the tail-end of pandemic afforded him an opportunity, along with encouragement from his then-boss and friend, whom he ran his kitchen as Chef. Nice to have someone encourage and support you enough to build your own brand, but lose your skills in the process. That's pure friendship right there, and an iteration of Crowes' Nest Cafe was born, Once it was established, it carved out a life of its own!
ABOUT YOUR CHEF
He's not one to toot his own horn, but Chef Dave Crowe-Garey is probably one of the most down to earth kitchen masters you'll ever meet. He knows great food, he was classically trained, and if he wouldn't eat it himself, you can bet it won't hit your plate on the table unless it has his stamp of approval. He mentors and shapes all our kitchen crew to cook cohesively and as closely to his style as possible to be seamless.
If you've ever had Dave's food, you know he puts that extra love into preparing the ingredients. We listen to our guests, take suggestions, and culinarily explore. Everyone has different ideas of what "comfort food" consists of, therefor, Dave's always on the go with dreaming new dishes up, and perfecting existing dishes we offer.
THE OTHER ONE...
Tom, the Veteran, door greeter, creative eye, and overall whirlwind, zooming through the dining room and kitchen, is the other half of the Crowes' Nest owner-duo. He's an Army Veteran, community advocate, connecting guests with staff and other local businesses. He has a market research background, event planning, and creating the atmosphere of the front end, with a goal of having each guest constantly turning and looking around to see what's new.
OUR STAFF
We take strides in hiring the right eclectic mix of employees, that gel with each other as well as our family of Crowes' Nest guests. We look for personable skills on top of those needed for restaurant service, from the front to the back.
We've had a wealth of personalities walk through our doors, and each person devotes their personal energy to make the workplace fun and interesting...not to mention providing a floorshow for our guests.
SO...WHY ALL THE CROWS?
"Crowe" is half of our hyphenated surname, which is Middle English/Irish, with over 250 yrs of roots in the Great Lakes Region, down to the Kentucky Valley, the Carolinas, to Lower Alabama.
Napoleon, which is home to the Napoleon High School Pirates, also played a pivotal role in our naming convention, playful yes, but steering away from the obvious nautical theme. So, not only do we celebrate the crow in our decor and name, we attract the actual winged beauties as our neighbors, adorning the tops of trees and buildings. They even serve as our parking lot sentries in the Spring through Fall, as you'll occasionally see a murder (three or more) walking along the cars.
They're extremely intelligent and family-oriented members of the Corvus genus of birds. They remember kind heartedness as well as danger, and will tell generations of crows to come, which humans are safe, and which are to be approached with caution.
Here at the Crowes' Nest Cafe, they are celebrated, welcomed, and encouraged. We look to educate the masses of just how wonderful these creatures are.
CAW CAW, CAW CAW
Being that we celebrated the crow in our nest, we give our guests an opportunity to participate. If a guest has enjoyed awesome food and service, we ask that they let our Nest Family know by ringing the bell to tell us. Obviously, we're going to show our appreciation and call out in appreciation by "caw caw" coming from different areas throughout the the restaurant.