A Last Season at the Blue Heron: Downtown Cadillac From Trick-or-Treat to Christmas Eve
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"It's time to move on," Brian Williams told 9&10 News on Oct. 1. "But I really enjoy what I do and I'm thankful to say that I get to leave this while I still love it."
He and his wife, Julie, will close the Blue Heron Cafe at 304 N Mitchell St. for good at noon on Dec. 24, 2026. They've owned the downtown Cadillac spot since 1996. Three details from the coverage change how that news reads. The cafe's last day lines up with a holiday break it has taken for years. The building has had a bakery or restaurant in it for 120 years. And the owner says people are already interested in buying it. What ends on Christmas Eve is the cafe's run under the Blue Heron name, and that leaves this fall in downtown Cadillac as the last few weeks of one long chapter.
Cadillac News reported that the Christmas Eve date follows the cafe's usual habit of closing between Christmas and New Year's. This year, it simply won't reopen after the break. So the last day will look like any other Dec. 24 at the Blue Heron. What changes is that the door stays shut afterward.
Williams told 9&10 that he and Julie had thought about closing for a few years and decided in July. Their main reason is more time with family. He also said December is one of the cafe's busiest months. College students come home, families get together, and holiday baked goods sell steadily right up to Christmas Eve. "We're trying to hold on to just keeping everything normal right to the end," he told the station.
That puts the final stretch in the cafe's busiest season.
The Blue Heron name is the newest layer in a building that has been a place to eat for a very long time. Here's the timeline, pieced together from the two news reports:
| Year | What happened at 304 N Mitchell |
|---|---|
| 1906 | A bakery or restaurant has operated in the building since this year, per 9&10 |
| July 1, 1996 | Brian Williams buys the business, then known as Ray and Ann's Bakery |
| 1996 to 1999 | Baked goods only, plus a remodel that ran about a year |
| Around July 1997 | The cafe begins operating under the Blue Heron name |
| Fall 1999 | A lunch menu is added, which Williams calls "our big breakout" |
| Several years later | Breakfast service joins the menu |
| Dec. 24, 2026 | Final day, open until noon |
The 1906 date matters for what comes after Christmas. Williams told Cadillac News he has interest from two or three potential buyers. He thinks the building suits a restaurant, bakery or other food business, and he expects a new owner would likely rebrand instead of keeping the Blue Heron name. He also said a sale won't change the closing date. "If I sell it, I sell it. If I don't, that won't impact my decision," he told the paper.
The Williamses still own their part of the building. Williams told 9&10 he hopes whoever takes over will "take it up to a whole new level," whether as a bakery, a restaurant or both, the way the Blue Heron was.
The couple also owns Fox Hill Event Center, and it will keep running as an event venue. The Blue Heron will stop doing its catering, though, so Fox Hill customers will choose from other caterers, according to Cadillac News. If a wedding or reunion at Fox Hill is on your 2027 calendar, it's a good idea to talk with the venue about catering early.
Williams isn't leaving the food business entirely, either. He told Cadillac News he'd like to keep working in the Cadillac or West Michigan area, possibly helping restaurants that are short on staff or doing some consulting, but without going back to a six-day week.
The cafe's breakfast and lunch menu still lists the regulars: the Home-Style Country Breakfast, the Farmers Omelet, the Breakfast Sandwich, the Chicken Salad Sandwich and the Lunch Flight. The listed service hours are 8:00 to 2:00, but no days are given. Check with the cafe directly before you go, and before you plan a holiday pickup. December is the month Williams says the holiday baked goods carry the place.
Want a coffee to go with your walk up Mitchell? Chunky Bear Coffee Roasters is at 124 N Mitchell St., on the same street.
While one longtime storefront on Mitchell gets ready for a new chapter, the Downtown Development Authority has been putting money and attention into the backs of the buildings. Its Rear Door Revival project is turning the alley west of the Cadillac Post Office into an art alley. The first mural, by local artist Raylin Vance, went up behind Horizon Books and The Raven Social in July. 9&10 News spelled her name RaeLynn and also named Matt Taylor and Drift Mural Company for later work.
The DDA's fall 2026 update says three more murals were finished before summer ended. That makes four in the alley, with three more planned. The DDA's Arts & Beautification committee also hosted a free paint party where people painted more than 90 mosaic tiles while the Middlebranch River Band played. Back in July, the DDA's update counted one mural done and six to go. So the plan went from seven murals with one done to seven with four done in about ten weeks.
The same October update promoted the Greater Cadillac Area Developer Day on Oct. 13. The event started and ended at The Market building in Cadillac Commons and brought together developers, business owners, city planners and investors to look at opportunities downtown. Put that next to a 1906 food-service building with two or three interested buyers, and the Blue Heron's last season reads as one handoff on a street that is actively looking for its next owners.
Here's what's on the calendar from this weekend through Christmas Eve, with each date taken from its organizer or the agency running it:
Christmas in the Park at Cadillac Commons is still listed as "TBD" on the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau's 2026 events page. Watch the DDA's monthly updates for a date.
When a downtown landmark changes hands, we're always interested in what comes next for the building and the block around it. If you'd like to talk through what's happening on Mitchell Street, or you're curious what a building like 304 N Mitchell means for downtown's next chapter, Daniella Bell Group is glad to share what we know over coffee. Find Your Beautiful Life.
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