Very solid sandwich place with great cookies and desserts. I had the Mavolan (chicken mozzarella panini) and I though it was really solid. I also got the rice crispy treat which was not overly sweet. I was told that one of the staff's mom makes all of them, so must be a family business! read more

We arrived right at noon on a Saturday and the line was at least 10 people waiting to order. It went very fast and our order was ready within 7-10 mins. The food was delicious. My husband had the Fitzgerald and I had the House salad. Fresh ingredients and fun atmosphere. read more

Great sandwich shop! I had the picton and it was awesome!! Grilled to perfection and slightly spicy! The sandwiches are pretty big so you could share if you're not too hungry. Most of the seating is outside, which was fine for us since it was a nice day. Workers were friendly too! read more

Amazing sandwiches and top notch service. The line was out the door but our sandwiches were ready in a few minutes. They were huge!! Consider sharing one if you aren't too hungry. read more

Best sandwich ever, in a great location. Pretzel bead is amazing. Get it to go and eat it by the beach

Amazing food at this little cafe. The seafood chowder is delicious. All of the sandwiches look delicious. We chose the SS Hydrus - chicken and avocado. It was very good! The sandwich's are a great size to split., or not! The young staff was very friendly and professional! read more

Nice place for a quick bite if you're in the area. We were looking for a place to eat after our walk at the nearby beach area and found this place. They are a small no frills place with some outside sitting. The customized pizza that we ordered was reasonably well made in a quick time. I loved the interesting maps and information they have on the wall about the shipwrecks in the lake... nice time pass while waiting for the food! read more

See all

After an afternoon stop at the sleeping bear dunes, we stopped by the visitors center in Empire and then decided on this gem for a late lunch. It did not disappoint!!! Five stars for delivering on exactly what a top quality sandwich shop should be. I had a roast beef and cheddar sandwich, and my girl had the Arizona wrap that had chicken with a southwestern flare to it. We shared the soup and I wish I had my own honestly but it was great. They had ice cream for the kids and the cherry drinks they supplied from a local business were different and unique in the best possible way. Thanks for a great meal and experience!!! If you are in the area I highly recommend for lunch. I'm sure they are great for breakfast as well so hopefully I can find out for myself one day in the future. read more

See all

Excellent, decent sized sandwiches. Easy to order and quick to finish. Situated in a convenient, clean shop off the side of the highway. Good stop after hiking sleeping bear dunes in the morning. read more

Those pretzel buns are where it's at. Excellent, fresh, hearty sandwiches in a cute town.

Good and fresh sandwich. The ingredients were fresh and the overall sandwich was good. Definitely a good place for a sandwich that's not your typical boring sandwich shop. read more

Awesome food. Hubby had the Carl Bradley sandwich. They use fresh ingredients and the bread was delicious. We had the white chicken chili. So good read more

Best sandwich in Michigan hands down. Fresh ingredients, fresh baked bread, and the most friendly service. Lots of options! Sooo good! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - a person holding a hot dog - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Wow! These sandwiches are the best I've ever had!!! The pretzel roll with salt is so delicious! Came 2x on our vacation bc they are *that* good! 2nd time we came was a HUGE lunch rush but we still got our sandwiches in about 10-15 minutes. Great place, highly recommend! read more

Sandwich was huge and very tasty! Staff was pleasant and helpful. This will be our lunch spot anytime we are up this way!

Simple but excellent. I don't know what made their sandwiches so good, they're not fancy, but maybe they're just good/fresh ingredients. I had a sandwich with the pretzel roll which I really enjoyed. Ambiance was also simple but cool. I learned a thing or two about history/shipwrecks just by looking around. Our 12 year old liked the place enough he bought a T-shirt. read more

They have gluten free wraps. Which are good for holding your sandwich together, at least. Not that tasty. The sandwiches are delicious. Seething is outside. The food was ready fast! read more

Food was so good, perfect place to take a quick stop on your way to the beach. No indoor seating, but outdoor seating was wonderful. Food was prepared quickly, and was absolutely delicious! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - a hand holding a sandwich - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

My daughter and I stopped for lunch. It was raining so we had to order and eat in the car. I ordered the Fritzgerald which was on a pretzel bun with fresh ingredients. It was a hardy sandwich. Nice presentation. My daughter had a panini Morazan. It was hot, fresh and she enjoyed the Italian bread. Would stop again. Many local people stopping for lunch too. read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Fritzgerald - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Excellent sandwiches, terrific service. Well Worth the trip to Empire, whether it's a beach day or not. read more

1 word to describe my sandwich amazing definitely come back. It is better. Sandwich shop I've ever been to surprising from a guy that lives in Columbus, Ohio. We have lots of options. read more

Tasty options, quality food, and friendly staff! There is a very beautiful outside area as well!

Very nice sandwiches, very bad social distancing situation. They had twice as many people inside as they said, and kept the door closed, so I wouldn't feel good about stopping here until current conditions subside. But when they do, consider the Italian sub, which has almost a fully dressed salad on top of some decent cold cuts. read more

Decent food which seems overpriced to me. For instance, I got a chicken panini expecting grilled chicken and instead got chicken lunch meat for $9. A small bowl of soup was $6. It tasted really good. We also got a chicken salad wrap and it was excellent. read more

Small. Need to get their line in order because the free for all is a little confusing. BUT... The choices were plentiful for the patrons in our vehicle. And we had a wide variety of ages and dietary needs. We all found something we wanted. The finished product was quite good. Little pricey, but we were famished and the end result was a full satisfied belly. $11/combo. read more

We read reviews and decided to stop here to grab sandwiches for a Sleeping Bear Dune lunch. Boy am I glad we did! We ordered the Fitzgerald and the Morazan. They were were absolutely delicious. We got sack lunches with Grand Lakes Kettle Cook BBQ cherry chips and a drink. We added chocolate cherry cookies which were amazing! We all highly recommend this delightful spot! read more

See all

After being told we'd have to wait 20 minutes for a sandwich in Frankfort, we drove north towards Sleeping Bear, our destination, and found this place on the way. Great sandwiches on good bread, with a lot of variety of fillings. We put them in the cooler and they were a delicious picnic lunch later that day. read more

This is a great local establishment run by very kind and courteous people. We found this while on our trip up north, and wishing we had a location like this nearby us. This was a total win, living up to the reviews that we found about them. The sandwiches are incredibly delicious, made with fresh made bread in house. The chicken chili is a touch spicy for those that are sensitive to spice. But it is delicious. We look forward to a future visit and wish them well! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Roast beef, onions, peppers, mozzarella, horseradish - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Super small shack but the sandwiches are worth it! In peak season the wait can be long but it's worth it. Get the combo as it's the perfect treat during or after a hike! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Chowder was amazing, friendly staff! Great place to grab some coffee and a snack before before you hit the sites/trails/dunes! read more

Amazing sandwiches. All 6 of us absolutely loved the ones we got, and the frozen custard was also soooo good. Perfect stop on the way to sleeping bear dunes. read more

All four sandwiches we ordered were amazing! I called to ask about my sons nut allergy and the woman on the phone was very knowledgeable and reassuring. This place rivals our favorite spot the cheese shop in Leland! read more

This place has the best sandwiches! Everything amazingly fresh. Not a very big place and the line was long, but the service was excellent and food was prepared as quickly as possible. If it's a nice day there are plenty of picnic tables to eat on outside. If it's not a nice day order take out! read more

The people are friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is great! We got the fog horn breakfast wrap and the Fitzgerald sandwich. Very good and fresh! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Casual sandwhich place. Huge flavors, excellent pretzel rolls Definitely stop for lunch read more

YOU MUST COME HERE & TRY A SANDWICH!!! We were headed to The Cheese Shoppe & heard-while en route- that it was closed. So we came here after a suggestion from a wonderful lady at M22. AND WE ARE SO SO glad we did. This may have just trumped the cheese shop & become our go-to sandwich during our trips to traverse city. For one, each of the sandwiches is named after a Great Lakes shipwreck. There is history written all over the bar & information about the given shipwrecks. It is absolutely fascinating & gives you something to do while waiting for your sandwich/eating your sandwich. The sandwich was absolutely amazing & I did not have to unhinge my jaw to take a bite. The turkey was phenomenal & SO hearty & delicious. Each one was made with care. The pretzel bread was the perfect amount of salty & was absolutely INCREDIBLE. I will be dreaming about this sandwich for the remainder of the year. I am setting my alarm for tomorrow morning to come get ANOTHER sandwich as they open. Owners & staff were friendly & awesome. Love the history that is painted on the walls. Love that the tip jar was labeled "tips for college." Total small town family feel with AMAZING sandwiches for a very generous price. See you bright & early tomorrow! read more

Shipwreck Cafe - The Fitzgerald - Cafes Near Me - Empire, Michigan

Nice local cafe. Stopped for breakfast before hitting the dunes. Breakfast menu is limited but it was good. Get the peanut butter cookies for later! Friendly brother and sister were working the place. Very limited indoor seating. read more

Amazing restaurant. The breakfast is was delicious. I recommend this cafe. I love Breakfast Burritos

I can make an argument the Fitzgerald with extra mayo is the best wich ever. But I grabbed an egg sandwich called the Fog on the way out of town today ....and a few miles out of town I discovered the eggs were cold . What am I gonna do turn around and complain? read more

I had the most delicious tuna melt wrap. It made me so happy. It's a small place that didn't have any indoor seating but great for if you want to take some food to go. There are picnic tables outside which would probably be nice but it was raining when we went. read more