Beggars Banquet: 50 Years as an East Lansing Staple

The historic “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, U.S. troops withdrawing from Vietnam, the beginning of the Watergate hearings, and the release of the popular movie, “American Graffiti.” These are all memorable moments from the year 1973, which is also when local East Lansing mainstay Beggars Banquet opened its doors.

The restaurant has provided the backdrop for many memories for residents and East Lansing visitors for 50 years. Weathering five decades of an ever-evolving small business landscape – and a global pandemic – isn’t for the faint of heart. But it’s something Beggars Banquet, at 218 Abbot Road, has been able to do.

As the restaurant celebrates its golden anniversary, we take a walk down memory lane, revisit the history of the business, and chat with the owners – past and present – and longtime customers.

Robert “Bob” and Betty Adler were two of the restaurant’s original owners. After working in another local restaurant, Bob Adler and a few of his coworkers decided to look for a place to open their own restaurant.

“The business that was in the location that Beggars is in today was called The Best Steakhouse. It was a cafeteria line, with cheap food, a jukebox, some pool tables, and a beer and wine license,” he said. “I knew the guy who owned it, made a deal with him to buy that establishment, and we turned that into the Beggars Banquet with a lot of work and a lot of help.”

The restaurant opened in February 1973 and took its name from a 1968 Rolling Stones album.

“We opened at 7 ‘o’clock on a Thursday night, and at 7:30, you couldn’t even get in the door. We just took off like a rocket, and it was like that for a long time,” Bob Adler recalled.

The goal was to have really great food but not be a pretentious place.

“We achieved that,” Adler said. “We had a tremendous, eclectic clientele. Having the combination of a world-class university across the street, the capital of a thriving state down the road and the world headquarters of Oldsmobile, it was a thriving community. It brought a lot of people from all over the world to the Lansing area to visit any one of those three places. A lot of those interested people were brought to dinner at the Beggars Banquet and that established it as a place to see and be seen.”

Current owner Tom “Dewey” Bramson started his hospitality career in 1986 and has been managing and operating nightclubs and restaurants in East Lansing ever since.

In 1998, Bramson partnered with Bob and Betty Adler and took over the day-to-day operations of Beggars. He spoke about the changes the restaurant has seen over the past five decades.

“As Bob and Betty would tell you, a group of self-proclaimed hippies opened this restaurant in the early ‘70s and we have tried to honor that tradition all the way through,” Bramson said.

The business began as a fine dining establishment but, when Bramson took over, renovations shifted the atmosphere a bit.

“We started with one major renovation when we took over operations by adding the third room, The Gallery, our banquet room, [which is] also used for overflow of regular business,” he said. “Several years later, we did another renovation where we took down a major wall in the bar area and opened up the whole front room. We really became more of a gastropub, with higher-end foods, but not quite in a fine dining atmosphere.”

Students, faculty, local residents, families and special-event crowds have all walked through Beggars’ doors.

“You’ll see everything from shorts and a sweatshirt to suits,” Bramson said. “You’ll see every age from 5 to 85 years old.”

Although cosmetic changes have occurred, one element that’s remained the same throughout the years is quality. Bramson attributes the restaurant’s longevity to its attention to service and quality of product.

“We pride ourselves on exceeding our guests’ expectations,” he said. “We are known for our brunch and our dinner entrees. Several items have remained on the menu since the beginning, including our London broil and our Sympathy for the Devil Chili.”

The comfortable, warm atmosphere features stained glass, Tiffany-style lamps over the bar and an original carved piece showcasing the evolution of Beggars Banquet.

Bramson said the restaurant’s 50th anniversary event in February was an emotional reunion for many former employees.

“It was astonishing, to say the least, at the amount of people that worked for us in the ‘70s and ‘80s who came back to celebrate the 50 years,” he said. “It was incredibly emotional to hear the stories, see the tears, and watch people who haven’t seen each other for 30-50 years interact, give hugs, high-fives and share stories of their families, where they live now, and how much Beggars has meant to them for so many years.”

Terry Grady was just one of the former employees who made a trek back to East Lansing for the reunion. The Connecticut resident helped publicize the “reunion” by  reaching out to 50 to 60 former employees to tell them about the anniversary party.

Grady frequented the restaurant first as a customer, spending a lot of time there while drawing and writing. He became close with the staff, who encouraged him to apply for a job.

Starting in 1974 as a dishwasher, Grady went on to work at Beggars Banquet for over 11 years. During his time there, he was also a bartender, cook, server, manager and even started a catering division. He looks back at his time at Beggars fondly.

“The relationships with the staff were excellent and the relationships with the owners were excellent,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better. They expected an honest day’s work and they treated you well. They went beyond that and were very forthcoming in building relationships. We did a lot together as a staff.”

Grady said those friendships continue to this day.

“We must have had close to 200 people show up for the 50th reunion,” he said. “I repeated what I told my wife at the 25th reunion – she commented how busy it was that night and I said, ‘well, yeah, and years ago, it was this busy every night. In fact, it was these same people. A lot of people have kept it in their hearts.’”

Adler described the anniversary event as an excellent evening witnessing friends pick up after decades apart.

“We made a big difference to a lot of people and a lot of people made a big difference to us,” Adler said.

Adler said that while many restaurants don’t last five years, seeing Beggars carry on for 50 years is a real testament.

“It was a phenomenon, and it’s phenomenal that it’s lasted that long. It was the place that I wanted and I’ve been very rewarded,” he said.

Grady attributes the restaurant’s longevity to the ownership.

“They treated everyone fairly, and expected you to treat everyone fairly,” he said. “I think that feeling really boiled over to everyone. You had a feeling of acceptance.”

Bramson said it’s common for people to come up to him at the grocery store or local sporting events, stop and chat about Beggars. Some former employees even have kids and grandkids who are currently working at the restaurant. Many had their wedding rehearsal dinners at Beggars or celebrated other special life moments there. He always enjoys hearing the stories.

“That’s really the special part of being part of this legacy,” he said.

For Williamston resident Ellen Chambers, many memorable moments took place inside and outside the doors of Beggars. Chambers’ best friend attended MSU and they went to Beggars in the late ‘90s when MSU lost to Duke in the NCAA Final Four tournament.

“Riots were going on all around when we left Beggars,” she said.

But there were many more happy times including many weekly half-off wine nights during the early 2000s with friends and Chambers’ then-boyfriend.

“After we were married and had a baby, we went there the day we brought our baby home from the hospital,” she said. “I wasn’t about to cook dinner the day we came home, so we went out to an early dinner at Beggars.”

As a customer for roughly 25 years, Chambers always looks forward to meeting friends at the local spot, and loves ordering the baked brie and beef stroganoff. She enjoys the more mature vibe, good energy and that it’s not a standard chain restaurant.

“In a college town, it appeals to a more mature crowd, not typically the 21-year-olds,” she said. “Like me, people go maybe for a nice (not ordinary bar fare) lunch or dinner to celebrate something, and return over and over.”

As chains come in, replacing mom and pop shops, Bramson said he feels incredibly blessed to have a small business that’s still standing.

“Through an awful lot of hard work on behalf of our staff, management, and my partners, as we operate Rick’s (43 years old), The Riv (41 years old), and Harrison Roadhouse (42 years old),” he said. “We’ve had incredible support over many years, and been able to guide ourselves through many different situations in our city and continue to thrive even post-pandemic.”

Bramson hopes the legacy can continue for another 50 years.

“I think Beggars Banquet means an awful lot to an awful lot of people,” he said. “And I think we’ll continue to provide an outstanding experience to generations to come.”

Disclosure: Bramson’s company, Equity Vest, has been a long-time financial supporter of ELi.