Historic Plymouth Area Restaurant Plans Comeback After Fire

SALEM TOWNSHIP, MI — The owners of Karl's Cabin and Banquets plan to reopen the restaurant sometime at a later date after a Wednesday fire forced dozens of diners and staff to evacuate the popular restaurant in the Plymouth Township area.

"We have already started the cleaning process today and will keep you posted as we learn more of our long road ahead," a Facebook post from the restaurant said. "Our plan is to reopen, we're just not sure how long this will take."

Photos and video posted to social media showed the blaze ripping through the restaurant Wednesday evening.

Ann Arbor fire officials said the building sustained heavy fire, smoke and water damage, but firefighters were able to contain the fire and save a "significant portion of the building," including the bar, kitchen and dining room.

Officials believe the fire started around 6:15 p.m. from a carelessly disposed cigarette outside the back entrance, where there are numerous propane tanks.

High winds then pushed the blaze to a storage container and then to the backside of the building, causing severe damage to the restaurant's dish tank, walk-in coolers, banquet room and the offices above the cabin, according to the restaurant's Facebook page.

Officials reported no injuries from the fire.

Karl's Cabin, located on Gotfredson Road north of Michigan 14, originally opened as Rusceak's Rustic Tavern in 1945 by Alex Rusceak and his wife, Katie, according to its website.

"The tavern became a popular stop for traveling musicians looking to make it big on the country circuit - once playing host to a then-young singer named Johnny Cash," the website reads.

After Alex's death, Katie maintained the property until her retirement. She then sold the restaurant in the late 1960s, when it then became known as Hefner's Hideaway, which was criticized for its after-hours operations, illegal gambling and disorderly clientele, according to its website.

After Hefner's Hideaway shut down, the restaurant later reopened as The Stockyard, but that eventually closed too.

Karl Poulos then found the abandoned long cabin and then reopened it as Karl's Family Restaurant in the fall of 1982. The restaurant is considered one of the oldest cabin restaurants structures in Michigan.