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BRIMLEY - He's baaack. Bill Benoit has come out of retirement to reopen Willabee's Restaurant, located on the banks of the Waishkey River in the heart of Brimley.
Benoit originally opened Willabee's in 1995. The building had been a restaurant for many years and had gone through several owners and name changes. Benoit made major modifications to the old building.
"I gutted the place," said Benoit. "Replaced all the wiring and plumbing and put brand new roofing and siding on. It needed a fresh look."
The new name came from an idea he had been thinking about for years, using the letters of his own name - William Benoit. Drop a few letters and you have Willabee's.
He also built Willabee's Motel, which his wife Lucy ran while he concentrated on the restaurant. He operated Willabee's for four years and made it into a successful business. Their Sunday breakfast business, especially, was huge, he said. Then he developed health problems and sold the place, planning to retire from the restaurant career he had worked at for over 50 years.
But things did not go as planned. He sold the business to three different owners, but "none of them could make it go," explained Benoit.
So now he is back to the business he knows so well. Willabee's reopened the day after Christmas. His intent is to build the business back up and sell it.
"It's still for sale," said Benoit. "I'm going to build it right back up to where it's going to do good again and sell it to someone who can manage it better.
The ideal buyer in his eyes would be a young couple who can work well together, something he and his wife, Lucy, have done for years.
"I would be in the kitchen and Lucy would manage the front. That way, we had a good control of the business."
Benoit was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie. He started his restaurant career at the age of 13 as a dishwasher at Chris's Steak House on Portage Avenue where Frank's Place now stands. Since then, he has spent most of his life as a restaurateur. He has started up seven restaurants, including Abner's, Robin's Nest and Studebaker's in Sault Ste. Marie. He had another Willabee's going in Gaylord as well.
"I lived a year and a half in Gaylord, long enough to build up a business and sell it. That was my goal - to build up a place, then sell it at a profit and go down the road and try something else. But I'm supposed to be retired now."
His philosophy for running a successful restaurant sounds simple and like many simple plans, seems to work well. "Three things: a clean place, good food, and a fair price. The business will come."
Portions are another high priority to Benoit. "You should never cut portions; it's like cutting your own throat. I believe in good portions and that no one goes away hungry. I have done that all my life and been successful at every restaurant that I've owned."
Willabee's serves food daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The lounge is open until midnight on weeknights and until 2 a.m. on weekends. He has created new menus with a large variety of items - wet burritos are the most popular seller. He also has special menus for seniors and children.
Stop in to welcome the Benoits back to the neighborhood. They run a clean place with good food at a fair price.
