The lakes.
The cakes!
McGuire's Resort has a long and storied past, weaved in and out of three generations of the McGuire family, beginning with a young fellow named Curly …

The secret to McGuire's success? True L-O-V-E!
Curly and Velma McGuire were born and raised in the Chicago area. One day, after being nudged by his fraternity brothers, Curly asked Velma to borrow her notes from class to study for an exam. Curly, who was known for never taking “No” for an answer, continued to ask and plead for Velma's help. Velma couldn't hold off any longer and finally gave in to Curly's charm. Curly eventually asked Velma out and from that day forward, the two fell in love.

Being a natural-born salesman, Curly tried his hand selling meat. That business was pretty interesting since not long after Curly got started, the Great Depression hit: How can you sell quality beef if people don't have any money? Curly started pushing calves liver, a meat product high in protein, inexpensive and, if cooked properly, tastes like a nice cut of prime rib. Wow, off to the races! Curly found a niche in the meat business even in the midst of a depression.  

As the story goes, Curly had his hands in on the very first refrigerated truck. Another ‘told ya so' moment for him! He wanted it to be known that great things come from adversity.

Curly and Velma had a son, Jim and two daughters, Corrine and Linda.

Opportunity: Curly's middle name
In the mid-1940's, Curly was working for a number of companies as a sales representative with the philosophy: “I need enough companies under my representation that every business is a potential customer.” Some of those companies were Abbott Screw that produced parts for automotive shops; K.O. Lee that made expanding mandrels, grinding wheels and repair tools for machine shops and Wollin Products, which produced injection moldings.

One day on his route, Curly and his sales partner passed through this scenic overlook with its spectacular sunsets and an outstanding view of two wonderful lakes surrounded by the city of Cadillac. Curly boasted that it would be great to open a motel on this hilltop. His partner told Curly to dream on and Curly said, “Did I hear you say that would never work?”  

As Curly started his next quest, he ran into some stumbling blocks. The property in question was owned by four sisters and it looked impossible to make happen. Tenacious Curly set out to prove he could.

On his travels, he looked up every one of the siblings and found out the main reason they didn't want to sell was that they thought there was OIL on the property! Curly thought, "Heck if that's all there is to make this deal happen, I can do this." He told them he'd buy the land and let them keep the mineral rights for 15 years at which time, if there were no oil, he'd get the property free and clear. The deal was sealed and Curly acquired the property that McGuire's Resort sits on today. 

Root Beer: Curly's salvation
As the dream started to come to fruition, Curly and Velma were strapped for money. Velma noticed people coming to the hilltop to watch the sunset. She thought they could sell root beer and hamburgers to these folks. The motel opened a root beer stand and they built a 12-seat root beer and hamburger stand.

Famous for our ‘cakes!
For a time McGuire's was known for their unique pancakes. The taste was slightly different, but always great. One ever so curious guest decided that they were going to find out the secret. One day while enjoying the delicious pancakes, the guest asked the server what made the pancakes so special. The server replied that it was a family secret.

The guest snuck into the kitchen to see what it could be. After watching the cook make the pancake batter, he noticed a barrel burnished with the name “Richardson Root Beer” was used to mix batter.

The secret was out: Curly McGuire put root beer in his pancake batter!

When questioned, all he and the family would say is that root beer kept the pancakes from sticking. But we know that there is much more to it!

Love blooms at the lunch counter
Curly and Velma's son Jim met his wife Sandy (nee Earl) when she and her dad walked into McGuire's for lunch. Jim and his buddies made a bet to see who would ask Sandy out first. Jim — shy but sly — cashed the Earl's out and later that night called and asked Sandy out. She accepted.

Unbeknownst to Jim, Sandy had been eyeing him for many years.

The two went out the first night to The Pines and had pizza. Jim, seeing some friends of his, went over and talked with them. Having been homecoming queen, Sandy knew many of the people there. Jim was already falling for Sandy and asked her out the next night. The two spent almost every evening together from that point on. Jim would go over to Sandy's after a long day's work to relax, often falling asleep on the couch. Later that same year, Jim proposed to Sandy and they were married soon after.

Jim and Sandy have four children: Val, Mike, Matt, and Scott.  Each of the kids spent time at the Resort working various jobs from housekeeping, bag room attendants, dishwashing, cooking, front desk and golf course maintenance. 

The kids' lasting impression can be seen in the 3,000 trees that were planted around the golf course and the vacant land.

When the kids were growing up and living at the Resort in the Blue Spruce Building, the maids would spend more time chasing them out of places they were not supposed to be than cleaning the facilities. 

Since Curly continued to work as a manufacturer's representative, Velma ran the business. After serving two years in the Army, Jim returned to the Resort in 1959 and by 1962 was managing the business. Many lengthy discussions ensued between father and son over the growth years. In 1972, Jim bought the Resort from his parents and peace prevailed over the Resort!

Jim and Sandy's son Mike now runs the family business, along with his wife, Marsha.

“Growing up, I witnessed the power of love, watching my mom and dad run and operate a successful business. By the time I was ready to settle down, the only place I would consider raising a family was Cadillac. I knew it was time to go home and try my hand at running the resort my parents were so proud of. So after eight years with Marriott, I packed my bags and headed home to do just that!  The fourth generation is currently being groomed to carry on the McGuire Family tradition.”
— Mike McGuire, General Manager

Consider yourself one of us at McGuire's Resort! Have questions? Call us now at (800) 634-7302!