On the morning of Tuesday, May 12, Naum was working the grill at Sophia's Kitchen, as he had on many days since the restaurant opened on May 25, 2000. MLive reported that the restaurant, named after his mother, would close for good on May 17. Some of the recipes came from her, and fish and chips stayed on the menu the whole time.
By then, two other longtime downtown kitchens had already changed course. The Big Boy at Saginaw Street and Grand Blanc Road had been sold on April 10, and the Crossbow Inn had served its last customers at the end of April. Between April 10 and May 17, three restaurants that Grand Blanc families had eaten in for decades were sold or closed.
Five months later, only one of those three corners has a reopening date. It's the corner whose future came down to a single sale, with one seller and one buyer who had already decided what to do with the building.
Five Weeks, Three Kitchens
| Restaurant | Address | Years on Saginaw | What happened this spring | What's next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Boy | 11432 S. Saginaw St. | Open by at least 2008 | Sold to Anna's House April 10, 2026 | Anna's House, set to open Oct. 26 |
| Crossbow Inn | South Saginaw Street | Nearly 50 | Last service April 30, 2026 | Developer plans a smaller mixed-use building |
| Sophia's Kitchen | 11395 S. Saginaw St. | 26 | Last service May 17, 2026 | Closed as the family retires |
All three hit the same few weeks, but for different reasons, and those reasons explain why they're on such different timelines now.
The Corner That Was Already Spoken For
The Big Boy had been around long enough to make the news more than once. In November 2008, a stockroom fire closed it for about a week before it reopened, The Flint Journal reported. ABC12 described it as a familiar stop for residents and travelers alike.
The building's next chapter started well before the sale. In November 2025, Anna's House owner and CEO Josh Beckett told MLive-The Flint Journal that the chain had been looking at "a super well-known building" in Grand Blanc for three years and that the owner had agreed to sell. He put the total investment at about $2.5 million. He also mentioned that his director of operations, Shannon Walz, lives in Grand Blanc. The building turned out to be the Big Boy, and Anna's House bought it from owner Victor Khzouz on April 10.
When the sale was announced, Beckett told ABC12:
"We are honored to take ownership of this location from Victor and to continue the legacy of gathering and good food on this corner. This building has been part of so many memories for local families, and we are excited to build new ones here."
The opening date moved over time. The first plan was late summer 2026. A September 10 company release, covered by MLive and WNEM, then set opening day for Monday, Oct. 26. Here's what the chain said Grand Blanc would get:
- Breakfast, brunch and lunch served all day, plus cocktails
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other allergy-friendly options
- A staff of about 60 people
- The chain's 14th Michigan location and its first in Genesee County
Anna's House said it would post progress updates on its Grand Blanc Facebook page and at annashouseus.com. Those are the places to confirm the opening and hours before heading over.
The speed here comes down to how simple the deal was. One owner sold one building to a buyer who had wanted it for years, and nobody else had to agree to anything.
Why the Crossbow Lot Has a Different Clock
The Crossbow Inn closed with every intention of coming back. Gavin Kister, whose parents Davy and Niki own the restaurant, told ABC12 on closing night that the regulars felt like family: "It's not only their business, but they ask how you are doing, how's your day." The plan was for the Crossbow and its neighbor, Ziggy's Ice Cream, to reopen inside LaPiazza, a $23 million, three-story building with apartments, offices and storefronts on Saginaw Street.
The project would have upgraded both businesses. Genesee County View reported in February 2025 that their new spaces would be two to three times their current size, and that Ziggy's would be able to serve customers year-round. The same article said developer Chuck Sekrenes, a Grand Blanc resident, was working with the architects who designed the Garden Building.
That plan depended on two parcels with two different sets of owners. On May 28, about four weeks after the Crossbow's last night, WNEM reported that Sekrenes had canceled LaPiazza after he and the owners of the Ziggy's property could not reach an agreement. "I'm sorry that it didn't happen. I feel bad that we couldn't pull it off," Sekrenes told the station.
He already owns the Crossbow property and told WNEM he still plans to build there. "We will end up doing a version of a mixed-use on that site there, but probably not more than 12,000 square feet," he said. LaPiazza would have been about 47,000. Starting over on one parcel means starting over on the design, and ABC12 reported that Sekrenes did not expect to begin designing the smaller building until next year. When the Crossbow closed, the family told ABC12 that no completion date had been announced.
Next door, Ziggy's had first planned to sit out the 2026 season. It reopened instead, with plans to stay open through the summer, serving from noon to 9 p.m. daily.
Sophia's Closed as a Family Retired
Sophia's Kitchen, at 11395 S. Saginaw, sits close to the old Big Boy at 11432. Its closing was a family decision, not a development deal. MLive reported that Naum's daughter, Sophia Naum McMillan, announced the closing on Facebook as her parents retire. "I grew up in this restaurant, and now my children have started to do the same," she wrote.
Naum told MLive that the children who once came in for kids' meals, with a balloon and cookies on the way out, were now bringing in their own children. Several staff members had stayed for nine or ten years, and one had been there 25. When a family retires, it doesn't hand off its recipes or its regulars to a new operator. Unlike the Big Boy, Sophia's closed without a buyer stepping in to carry the room forward.
Where a Downtown Breakfast Goes Now
If you're looking for a new regular spot within a few blocks of Saginaw and Grand Blanc Road, here's where things stand:
- Anna's House, 11432 S. Saginaw St. The old Big Boy building, set to serve breakfast, brunch and lunch all day from its scheduled Oct. 26 opening.
- Irene's Craft Kitchen + Biergarten, inside the Garden Building on Reid Road. The Garden Building opened in December 2024 with support from the state's Revitalization and Placemaking program. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation reported in June 2025 that Irene's was already drawing customers and the building was fully leased.
- Grand Blanc Heritage Museum, 203 E. Grand Blanc Road. It's in the City Hall complex, a short walk from the old Big Boy corner, and the city lists it as open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Whatever eventually goes up on the Crossbow site will start with that parcel alone and at roughly a quarter of LaPiazza's planned size.
At C2C Real Estate, we've watched South Saginaw change one storefront at a time, and we pay the same close attention to the homes around downtown Grand Blanc. If you'd like to hear about properties near the old Big Boy corner as they come up, Get Access to Our Private Listings and we'll keep you posted.
