One Year Later, One of Michigan’s Best Restaurants Thriving Under New Ownership

One of the most beloved family restaurants in Decatur, Michigan, gave people a little scare last year in June when the owner of the Hard Times Family Restaurant listed their building for sale.

The former owner of the restaurant, Debbie Tuka, who has been a part of the team since they opened Benson‘s Hard Times Family Restaurant back in 1979, announced that they would be selling the building, which most likely meant the business as well.

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As she stated back in June, she was ready to hang it up:

We will remain open while we are for sale. We have no thoughts whatsoever of closing. We’ll nip that soon to be rumor in the bud right now. We have so many memories and enjoy being a part of Decatur for the last 45 years! We are on the market permanently until sold. I’m ready to retire

Although there was a fear that they would be closing, new ownership took over on November 6th, 2024, and Debbie stayed on to help them transition into ownership. The great news is that we were reached out to by someone who wanted the public to know that Hard Times is going through everything but that, and business is going well for the new owners.

They regularly host specials for certain holidays, like Valentine’s Day, and even feature a fish buffet and pizza buffet as well. You can keep an eye on their Facebook page to stay up-to-date on all the specials that they have coming up.