After exploring numerous waterfalls in the UP, we happened upon this little gem on the corner. Noticed they were Packer fans, so we were happy to hang out. It was our lucky day!! Free pitcher of beer with an order of a pizza! What?!? We even got Keewaunaw Brewing Company Amber!!! We are veggie lovers, so we had the veggie pizza. I was a little skeptical about broccoli on a pizza, but this was probably the BEST pizza my husband and I ever had! No joke!! The sauce, the crust, fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and just the right amount of cheese! Yummy! I hope my son can get a scholarship to Michigan Tech someday so we can come back and enjoy. Thanks for a great experience. Service was excellent as well! read more

This is your quintessential UP bar and restaurant aka "fine dining" in town. It was recommended by a local for their great pizza so we had to give it a try. Despite the homemade crust, it was a bit heavy and NOT the thin crust we had in mind. It's not exactly the rising crust but more dense on the edges as seen in the picture. Definitely not worth coming back for. The food was just average with big portions. The 14 inch large pizza is too much for two people! With that being said, the friendly service made up for the mediocre food. Our server was very attentive and helpful. Even informed us how the pizza was charged with the split. If you're looking for a good pizza spot, this falls short of the mark. I understand it's the UP and resources are scarce but there are much better options in Houghton and nearby. read more

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This place was a great stop after a long day of fishing, boating, and jumping waves. Very much a local hangout and everybody seemed to know everybody-- but were extremely welcoming to us strangers. Staff were attentive and friendly and our waitress came back multiple times to check in and provide refills. Great kids menu with more than just chicken nuggets and mac n cheese -- my one kiddo was extremely pleased with her beef ravioli. We also shared a Jimmy Special pizza that was delicious. We will definitely visit again when we're back in the area! read more

Loading Zone II - Mostly eaten Jimmy special pizza. Delicious. - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Amazing ranch I love the ranch and the tenders are nice and juicy and good sized great portion, cute restaurant and food is warm when you get it ordered to go, it can get busy sometimes but the food is worth it! read more

Loading Zone II - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Kitchen closed early. Hours say 8 pm. When we walked in at 7:10 they informed us that the kitchen just closed,. The bar was full. If you're going to run a business the professional thing to do is serve until you say you're open. read more

Have eaten here several times and I have 0 complaints. Always the best. Had pizza from The Loading Zone II last night and man was it great! My kids favorite pizza place here! read more

The service was awesome! The fried brussel sprout salad was the best salad I have ever had!!!

Delivery takes up to 2 hours for a 6-m drive. Food always arrives cold. Never an apology or any type of discount offered.

Horrible place but it's the only restaurant in town Incredibly slow service And food is bland They totally messed up our orders read more

Loading Zone II - Bar and restaurant - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Not good pizza. You call this a sausage pizza?! ONE piece of sausage per slice, what a joke! And, the pizza overall doesn't even taste that good. Small town mediocrity at its best because these people have no idea what good pizza is. Their salads are all iceberg lettuce too. Save your money and get a pizza at the Ambassador. read more

Loading Zone II - Not good pizza. You call this a sausage pizza?! - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Friendly staff- they handled our huge crew with a pile of kids well. Took awhile to bring it out - but always good food!

Had the Turkey Dinner special. The plate was cold with hot food that turned cold while sitting on the plate. Mentioned it a few times to wait staff, was ignored. Stuffing made with pumpernickel or rye bread, not sure what. Very bland Turkey even with the gravy. After 5 minutes everything was cold. Maybe I should have had the pizza. read more

The staff was fun as they decorated for Halloween. The chili had the perfect spice and the chicken quesadilla was perfect!

Called in order because we are going to movie and we know they take along time . Said 20 mins ended up being 40. Waitress was great. Only one other group here so not busy. Crust was over cooked and I think they forgot sauce. We really want to like it here we've given it a few visits more than we should since the new owners took over really bummed not a lot of places to eat here. I've had better frozen pizza. Our dinner salads were good. Place is very clean. Thinking the bar is where they put their time an energy read more

Ignored by waitress. Ordered a pizza to go after a burger and drinks and salad. Obviously she forgot about us. Pizza was dry and burnt when we got home. Super disappointed as the whole reason we went was for the pizza. Bonus was double bubble. Sad about being ignored and reviving a burned pizza. read more

Great food - great service. Lots of seating and a great menu - too many choices! You have to go back for more because you'll want to try everything. I had the Chicken Caesar Salad. It was perfect. Others in my party had hot roast beef, hot turkey and a Cobb Salad. Not a bad meal for any of the choices! We'll be back. read more

Visited in a Wednesday night. The place was a little busy but we had reservations. (There WERE still some open tables.) They took our drink order right away and got us our drinks. (Sodas) After that, we were ignored for the next 30 minutes. After hearing complaints from other tables, we decided to go elsewhere. I went to the bar, explained why we were leaving and paid for our sodas. I would have thought they would not have made us pay for such poor service but I guess they didn't really care. read more

We stopped here to grab a couple of sandwiches to go as we're not quite ready to dine indoors with Covid still present. The server behind the bar was friendly and our order was done quickly. We had the corned beef Reuben which was tender and melty, and we also ordered the whitefish sandwich which my husband stated tasted fresh. We also ordered the homemade fries but sadly they were a little overdone and dry. We would love to see the business invest in non-plastic takeout containers if possible. Overall, we enjoyed our experience and would definitely order food here again. read more

Had Dinky special pizza. Was excellent. What coming is Jimmy special pizza. Ask for it as not on menu. Don't miss special daily double bubble. 1:30 till 4:30. Best in the UP. Our new favorite place. Curt & Deb read more

The Best fish in town. I ordered the lake trout, blackened instead of seasoned. It was done to perfection, although I would have liked it Blacker, with more spiciness, my fish came out well cooked with a healthy dose of spice. read more

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Very blue collar. Had to phone the front to get a waitress after waiting 20 mins. Waitress said she had 9 tables. She had initially served the table next to us, looked right at us and left and did not come back to take our order until .Big portions. All cholesterol laden and fried read more

Loading Zone has been our first choice for pizza for 25 years, we never need a menu as we're always going to order the dinky's special. The place is now under new management, they said nothing was going to change and initially that was true but have noticed some of the old staff disappearing and experienced slow service and longer than normal wait last month. Waited one hour last night for a extra large and was told they made a mistake and made a large, the XL will take another fifteen minutes so five of us took the large and ate less. We may try one more time, maybe. read more

I was served a kids sized burger on a normal sized bun. Got charged for a double burger when I ordered a single. Burger was over cooked and the waitress did not as a single question pertaining to preference about anything we ordered. I haven't been here in years and will most certainly not be prioritizing any nights in the near future. read more

Loading Zone II - I was served a kids sized burger on a normal sized bun. Got charged for a double burger when I ordered a single. Burger was over cooked. - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Stopped here for dinner while in Marquette. Typical diner food and an extreme Americana theme! We had a pizza and a wrap (it was hugggge). Both were yummy and filling. Great service! read more

The Loading Zone II is a staple of Lake Linden. I make it back to my hometown about once a year and stopping at The Zone for a pizza is a tradition. They have one of the best pizzas I've ever had. The environment is clean, friendly, and the staff is very personable. I recommend the Zone to everyone I know in lower Michigan that I know will be visiting the Keweenaw. Also, the new owner is a great guy! read more

Used to be a good place. Today I was told the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I have worked at many restaurants I should add. I called to place a phone order and was told , and I quote "No , we are busy. We are not taking any orders. Call back if you are still hungry later" No , you take the order and then say it will be a delay because the kitchen is busy. The caller then may opt to wait or go elsewhere but you have the order already and they tend to wait. You don't say fuk off , we wont take your order. Well , the many places I worked at with first time clueless owners do that. And all fail. So I assume we will see the for sale sign back on the old place and here is hoping the next owners have ANY experience and didn't just have an idea during a summer vacation. A restaurant never says no , it says their might be a delay. No is how business go's elsewhere forever skidmarks. Been a years long customer , guess I'll try again when this ownership falls like a stack of bricks and the next comes in. After all the rotation of restaurant owners around here is more often that I change toilet paper rolls. They all thought there way was the correct one. They all thought they would never fail. They all slid away with head hung down as the failures their actions doomed them to become. God , I hope this isn't some "the owner is now the cook and just realized it aint as easy as it looks" or "owner was cheap and figured why not we can do it" , that ended the run of a former owner of The Hutt fyi. If you don't know how to run it you have to hire people who do. I worked for a wonderful lady in Lac La Belle once who had a dream and made the same kind of mistakes. She doesn't own that resort any more unfortunately. Good intentions do not replace experience. Nothing does. Close the diner and just become a bar. I imagine it was what the new buyers really wanted anyway. read more

If you're reading this, you're probably wondering "should I go to the Loading Zone?" and hoping to get some good info from Yelp. Yes. Yes, you should. And here's why. We were there last Friday and got the whitefish specials. The fish was excellently prepared and well-seasoned. The salad was fresh and crisp and the food was all served at the proper temperature. Prices, especially with the quality of our meals, are reasonable. They had a sausage, potato, and cheese soup (never heard of that before) that was excellent. This establishment calls itself "fine dining". If you're looking for a white linen, service staff in tuxedos, strolling violinist kind of place, I don't think there is one in the UP. But... if you're looking for a little bit better quality fare than the standard cafe, this is a really good place to start. It's modest and unassuming but definitely worth a stop. It's among the places that we make an effort to visit when we're in the area. read more

We stopped in last Monday when we arrived in Houghton. We'd been to the Loading Zone II a few years back and it was pretty good. We walked in and were told to pick a table anywhere (don't know about everyone else, but I like being able to find a seat /table on my own). Our waitress seemed VERY spread thin..she was all over at about 100 mph...I actually felt bad for her. We ordered drinks ( diet soda for me, KBC Widow maker for my husband). We chose to order pizza since they get good reviews. We ordered cream cheese poppers and cheese garlic bread as apps. The garlic bread order was large and we ate one piece...but it was tasty. Pizza came out and really was pretty darn tasty. The pizza we ordered was a 12 inch with Pepperoni....pizza was delicious and I especially liked the crust. We ate about half of it and were stuffed. The waitress came by and asked if we were done and we said yes. She asked if we would need a box and we politely declined since we were staying at a hotel in Houghton and had no way to store the leftovers. She then said " This is great..the guys in the back will enjoy this! ........say what?! LOL I had never in all of my almost 50 years have a server say that they would take our leftovers and give it to the employees in the back (not that I care...we didn't touch it or sneeze on it or anything lol)...my husband and I looked at each other and had a stifle a laugh lol. We got the bill and sure enough? as she carried away our leftover pizza she yelled to the people in the back... "Any of you guys want leftover pepperoni pizza?" LOL MY train of though? at least they won't do anything bad to the food since apparently they enjoy what we don't take home with us lol :) read more

Loading Zone II - Pizza was delicious. - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

We were staying in Hancock on vacation and were going to be there for the opening Packer game, so we researched on line and found this Packer bar. It was nice to feel at home to watch the game. They have the Keweenaw Brewing Company beers, which we both love: Amber (Red Jacket) for me and Black (Widowmaker) for my husband. I had a wonderful Cobb salad, which is hard to find and definitely not standard bar fare. My husband had a small pizza which he liked very much. Definitely a great place to watch a Packer game. Only thing better would have been if the Packers didn't get creamed. read more

zero stars. cheese burger & fries? no brainer, right? wrong. bun as soggy as a sponge and burger was crunchy on the outside and pink on the inside. how does that even happen? service un-responsive and bored by the whole thing. never again. I do not recommend with great gusto. read more

By far the worst food I've had from here. The past few times we've tried to eat here since being under new owner ship the food has been awful. Definitely not worth the money. Don't recommend read more

Party of 6 had lunch on Saturday afternoon. Whitefish sandwiches were delicious. Burgers were also great. Waitstaff friendly and efficient. Also, they had "double bubble" promotion and got 2 beers for 1. Highly recommend!! read more

Great place to go and enjoy a drink with a few snacks. Price is right, and they have specials all the time. Food is (ok), but nothing to right home to mom about . read more

The new owners are awful! Service is extremely slow and the food quality has gone severely downhill. The owner was working when I stop in. I was completely ignored while staying at the bar by the owner himself. There were 3 people at the bar yet I was left to stand at the bar with no acknowledgement. It's sad to see a local staple ruined by new horrible owners. Don't waste your time or money...drive to Hancock or Houghton! read more

Well known for their delicious pizza and burgers! A great selection of food to choose from. Their back dining room is perfect for large groups. A great local family owned business with weekly specials and a friendly staff. Just off the trail in the heart of Lake Linden. A must stop when visiting the Keweenaw! read more

We just ate here while in town on vacation. Fantastic BLT. Kids liked their meals too. But we were seated next to a party of 30, so it was very loud. The wait staff encouraged us to order quickly, which we did, and we got our food in a timely fashion. read more

This is by far the best stop in the keweenaw. I was here for 6 days and I went here 7 times. How does that work? I don't know. You do the math. Anyways, place is great. Great food. Amazing service. The prices are so good you'll think ya went to cheap-bar-land. It's great. read more

Restaurant was pretty busy but we all got our food fairly quickly. I decided to try the 8 inch Italian Sub for dinner. This sub was huge and very filling. Definitely not a chincy little sandwich. I normally get one of their burgers but decided on something different and I'm glad I did. You should definitely try it if subs are your preferred food choice. read more

Loading Zone II - 8 inch Italian Sub..yummy to the max! - American Near Me - Lake Linden, Michigan

Excellent dining experience! Turkey Dinner special was very good, onion rings were excellent and so was the homemade Italian Wedding soup. The Dinky's Club was excellent along with the homemade French fries. Very nice bar, atmosphere and fantastic, friendly service! Would highly recommend! read more

I have some very old, very fond memories of this place. My Grandaddy owned it for many years, when it was known as The 400 Bar-O.K. maybe creativity wasn't Old Grand Dad's strong suit, but he could run the hell out of a watering hole. I must say that The Loading Zone is a bigger, kinder, gentler version of the old 400. Obviously, the goal is to appeal to the family market, and in that regard, the owner has succeeded. But I would describe the decor as hardcore dive bar meets countrified UP diner. It needs a little something. The extensive menu put's shame to the tombstone pizzas, pickled eggs, and venison jerky that gramps used to offer. And the food is very good. The pizza ranks very high on my list, and the salads are large, fresh, and delicious. Really, the only negative to report would be the overserved young lady at the bar who belted out the F with wanton disregard for her fellow patrons (most notably, my 4 year old daughter). When I expressed my dismay, she was promptly 86'd. If you find yourself on the Keweenaw Peninsula, give The Loading Zone a try. You won't be disappointed. read more