John Boy's isn't just a diner--it's a portal. One foot in Americana, one in a dream. The menu reads like a manifesto: sprawling, obsessive, oddly precise. Every dish arrives like it's been summoned by memory. The bacon is crisp, the toast knows something, and the omelets are heavy with intention. The dining room is small, dimly lit, and full of quiet drama. The regulars speak in half-smiles, and the staff greets you like they've seen your face before--in another life, maybe. Alpena doesn't have many restaurants. That's the mystery. You drive around expecting more, but there's a stillness here. A pause. And then--John Boy's. Waiting. Whether you're just passing through or hiding out for a while, this is your place. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. (Even if you're not hungry.) read more

John Boy's Restaurant - The unique and wonderful Italian omelet with homemade toast. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

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Your typical small town diner! Everyone was so friendly. Don't make my mistake and make sure you get their fresh bread!!! My husband got it and gave me a bite, and I regretted not getting my own! It was amazing. read more

Friendly and fast little restaurant to visit. Small but cozy, great food and friendly too. Highly recommend when in town of looking for a great place to dine. read more

Excellent Meat Lovers Omelette! Tastes homemade. The bacon was exactly how I like it. One of the best omelettes I've ever had

Classic diner, really friendly service and super tasty food! The homemade crab Rangoon sticks were delicious, and so was the poutine Dani's way! Would come again read more

John Boy's Restaurant - Poutine Dani's way - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

The food was excellent!! My husband had a Reuben sandwich which he said was really good! My cheeseburger was excellent and cooked to order! The curly fries were crispy and exceptionally good! The service was excellent too! It reminded us of a 'mom & pop' friendly diner! We will go back when we're in town! read more

Good ole fashioned breakfast with old time atmosphere and great friendly staff, everyone there made you feel welcomed. read more

John Boy's Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

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Great lunch(blt and hot beef sandwich) excellent service, good prices, and lots of artwork on walls to admire. Enjoyable little diner-style restaurant read more

Great home-style food and relaxed atmosphere. Service was friendly and timely. We will return again! read more

John Boy's Restaurant - Giant cinnamon roll - big as a dinner plate! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

Delicious breakfast and excellent service. Very friendly and welcoming staff. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Cute little restaurant. Maybe 10 tables. Our waitress was all smiles and super friendly. We got a cinnamon roll. Huge!! Perfect amount of icing on it, with a slightly crispy butter going through all of it. Be prepared to take some home! Cinnamon French toast was excellent. Pancakes are huge. One was more than enough. Would definitely stop here again. read more

Low quality food, sandwiches were soso cheap lunch meat. Fries were super greasy. Service was great. Place was a little old school but overall fine. read more

When traveling we always try to support the local business. So John Boy's it is. We walked in and everything was clean and orderly. A small 9 table place. Warmly greeted by our server Carla. My wife had the eggs and toast. I had the breakfast special of the day. Jackpot!!! What a breakfast! We both gave the bathrooms . We both really liked John Boy's. Nothing fancy here. Everything was clean, the food was very fresh and tasty and the staff was warm and friendly. I highly recommend you stop by here for breakfast. Easily beats the chain restaurants. Thanks John Boy read more

I wrote a review 6 years ago that slammed this place pretty harshly. I am not updating it, I am rewriting it. The food is really good. There might be the occasional mistake, but that happens everywhere. They are usually good at correcting things swiftly. They serve ALL menu items throughout the day. If you want pancakes for lunch, they got ya covered :) Their delivery service has changed a bit in the years, they now have drivers carry card swipers. Not a bad thing provided you can find the card you have memorized lol. The location is comfortable, semi accessible for those with mobility aids. I recommend their cheese omelette :) read more

A small relatively clean diner. It's been here for a long time. The walls are tongue and grove. There are numerous local patrons. There was only one waitress for the place. She handled it quite well. The food took a while to get it but it was worth the wait. I ordered a veggie omelette. It was packed with all fresh ingredients. It came with toast and I chose the cinnamon bread and it also was great. My husband ordered the corn beef omelette and he said it was perfect. We will continue to come here when in the area. Highly recommend breakfast. read more

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We are staying in Alpena for a friend's wedding and decided to give John Boy's a try. It's a small family restaurant and was a quiet but pleasant atmosphere. (I assume it's busier during the summer season.) We loved it! The food was great -- my eggs over easy were perfect and the bacon wasn't overly crispy. Also, they make their own cinnamon bread. We had the giant cinnamon roll, and when they say giant, they aren't kidding! It's the diameter of a birthday cake. They grill it and then pour the icing over it. Absolutely awesome! Service was good too -- we were greeted when we arrived and the waitress was friendly and attentive. My coffee cup never ran empty. Would definitely eat here for breakfast again! read more

John Boy's Restaurant - Giant Cinnamon Roll - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

The food is very good and the staff are as well. The interior is a very cramped diner style but with the recent removal of some of the unnecessary bits it does feel slightly more open. You come here for the good food, not the good environment. Also - its difficult to get parking in the area. read more

Had a delicious dinner here. Friendly staff and clean dining area. Would recommend and will be back. read more

John Boy's Restaurant - 1/2# Cheeseburger and Fries - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

Had a fantastic breakfast yesterday! Great service! The hash browns and toast were excellent!!

Service was fabulous. Food was very good for a small town family diner. Would definitely go back again

Love, love John Boy's. Excellent service, excellent food. Breakfast is so good. Great sandwiches, etc. If you are visiting from out of town, don't be afraid to try this place. It's a small space but such good food. read more

Great service and food. The omlette was really fluffy and filled with ham, onion, pepper and cheese. Toast was good as well

After checking into the wonderful Dew Drop Motel I needed to find a place to eat. The motel lady suggested some golf club bar nearby but that didn't sound appealing. I decided to take a spin thru the town to see if anything was open late and was just thinking to myself, what this town needs is a 24 hour joint like that truckstop in St. Ignace I ate at, when suddenly the "Open 24 Hours" sign caught my eye. MY kind of place! There are enough cholesterol-laden items on their menu to keep the town heart specialists in the chips for years to come. I was hungry so I ordered the Cheeseburger Soup, a meal unto itself, and a quarter pound John Boy Burger (there is a half pound version, too). Both were perfectly good and both were very filling. Comfort food to be sure. No indigestion afterwards either. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a glass of buttermilk to wash it down. There is a bar counter but the place has more of a burger joint atmosphere. As a single female eating alone late at night, I felt very comfortable and safe in here. Recommend to others? Yes! read more

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I don't know why the rating isn't higher. The biscuits and gravy was in my top 3 of all time. Biscuits were home made and light as a pillow. The gravy was great, as the chef added sage into his gravy. All the bread products are home baked. My wife loved her cinnamon raisin toast. Our waitress made iced tea for me, as theirs comes from the soda machine and brought me gravy to taste before I ordered. Great diner!!! read more

I absolutely love little hole-in-the-wall restaurants and John Boys did not disappoint. With three people working (1 waitress, 1 delivery driver, and one cook), Our food came out quickly and was delicious. I appreciate a waitress who always keeps my drink full and she did just that! We got a John Boy Platter and the cheesy tots were amazing. We also got a burger, wrap, and sandwich; they all were amazing. Would definitely recommend! read more

First of all I felt bad it was busy and there was only one real waitress the other was a friend helping until the real help got there. She did the best she could. The French toast was slightly dry even with a lot of syrup and did not have a real strong flavor kind of bland. My husband enjoyed his breakfast however. It is so small inside however. read more

Classic American diner does not disappoint! Skip the chains, this is the real thing! Delicious at any time of day. Food is fresh and expertly prepared. Reasonable prices and generous portions. Something for everyone and carry out available. Staff is outstanding and understanding read more

Love the food and prices. Aleta have had excellent service. Great breakfast specials. Omelettes and decent sized. Nice Big Breakfast

John Boys makes the best Kitchen Sink Skillet. The portions are generous. The skillet is full of sausage, bacon, ham, mushrooms. Onions cheese and hash browns. It's a big plate of warm deliciousness accompanied by tasty homemade toast. The staff is friendly and the service great. I highly recommend John Boys! read more

Biscuits and gravy done right! I've eaten them for many years, but I've never had them served in a bowl with the gravy poured over the top and the biscuit sitting in it. Sometimes you run out of gravy and end up with a dry biscuit, but not at John Boy's. My hash browns were a bit greasy, but still tasty. If we're ever in the area again, we'll come back! read more

This is the best restaurant I've ever eaten at. The cheese omelette was like heaven. The sausage was perfect, and the toast was exploding with butter, just the way I like it. If I had more money for a tip, I would give them more. The next time I die in there, I shall put a one legged Lego man in the seat next to me. read more

Always a great place love the food and the service is perfect. Love being able to go to locally owned and operated staff goes above and beyond read more

This place is absolutely amazing! Perfect coffee and hash browns. Amazing blueberry pancakes and wonderful diner atmosphere. Our waitress was amazing and the sweetest person. This place should be on everyone's Alpena checklist. read more

My husband ordered the omelette and I got the skillet. We both would come back for the skillet. Very tasty! The owner came out to ask how the meal was and the waitress was also very friendly. The menu had a little bit of everything and they are open 24/7. read more

John Boy's Restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alpena, Michigan

Ok so let's start off with the fact that since they reopened my orders have been wrong each time. Let it slide till yesterday when my husband called and they said a member of management would call today and never did. So when I messaged on Facebook they said no manager was in till Thursday and she would get a hold of me then. But here is the thing never once offered to make it right instead made excuses about how it's hard to get people to work. If that's the case shut down and don't hire cooks who can't cook. So my husband calls and gets hung up on really. That's how you run your business. Never again. read more

One of the best breakfast places I've been to. Great food for reasonable prices. Highly recommend their homemade toast. Will definitely be going here again! read more

Overall just okay. The "Swiss" cheese in my omelette was just white American cheese. The food and coffee were unimpressive.

I tried rating this zero stars but it wouldn't let me. I have ordered from them many times since they opened back up. Each time my order was wrong. Tonight I ordered at one o'clock. I ordered a Salad with no chicken or onion, and French Fries with a side of brown gravy. Very easy order in my opinion. I was told my food would be here in an hour. Okay. They're busy. I can respect that. My food shows up. The only thing they got right was my drinks. I called back and told them they messed it up. My salad was the house salad covered in meat, and my fries were soggy and there was no brown gravy at all. The lady who had taken my order said that she put that I wanted the house salad. Which does not come with chicken. I told her that I had ordered the chicken salad with no chicken, because I liked the other ingredients in that particular salad, and that I don't like meat in my salad. In my opinion, if someone orders a salad with no chicken, they probably mean the salad that usually has chicken in it. She said that I just said a salad no chicken or onion. Okay, but still, you are taking the order. If you are confused or need confirmation about something, it is literally your job to ask me to clarify. She said okay. Then she told me she would comp the food. So I said, no. I want my food remade and sent to me please. You all got the order wrong, please make it right. There was a moment where she was quiet, and then I was told that they would remake my order properly. Yay. They told me that it would be another hour. I'm slightly irritated at this point because it was an hour wait to get the food they got wrong, but okay. Fine. I'm hungry enough to wait. Another hour goes by and then I get a call from them. They tell me that they can't send my food at all because they're busy, and it's too difficult to pick out all the meat. So I said, "It's just a chicken salad with no chicken. How is it hard to pick out what isn't supposed to be there? Just don't cook the stupid chicken?" Then she said, "You ordered the house salad." to which I replied that no, you got the order wrong. You put it in wrong. I asked if I was going to get my fries and gravy. She said that they would not be sending my food, that I paid for. I am so upset right now. I paid, and did not receive any food at all. When I asked why not, she said they were busy and that I can call tomorrow to speak to a manager, then she hung up on me. read more

The hidden jewel, in the downtown Alpena, Michigan area. I have been there twice, with my family. A warm friendly "hello" from one of the two lovely women working there, makes you feel right at home. My son and I had the pepperoni pizza, "the medium, is on special" the sweet Waitress suggested to me. It was really good. She was very attentive to us, offering refills, etc. She even came over to pick up the tab and rang it up for us. I told my Husband about the nice experience we had there. On another occasion, my Husband and I went there for breakfast. The Waitress remembered me and gave us a friendly greeting. I ordered the blueberry pancakes, just the right size and a side order of bacon, all of it was cooked to perfection. My Husband had a nice big breakfast and enjoyed it, as well. The prices are good, and I enjoy the friendly atmosphere! read more

So fuck this place. If I could give it 0 stars I would in a heart beat. I will never spend my money here. The waitress took everyone's order, then started to bring out everyone's food. She served everyone in my group except me. She the. Began serving tables that came in after we had, even after being reminded about my order. When my order finally came, I was so mad that I walked out. When other in my group tried to pay they threw it out. This place is a joke. read more