From a Car Dealership to a Casa Italiana

Grayling’s Matt and Christine LaFontaine on their restaurant, Mimi and Pipi’s

By Ross Boissoneau | Oct. 10, 2026

How does a family with no experience in the restaurant business make a go of it? For Matt and Christine LaFontaine, it all comes down to their expertise in the auto industry.

While running a restaurant may seem a long distance from selling cars and trucks, changing oil, or resurfacing brake rotors, Matt LaFontaine begs to differ. “We operate a boutique dealership. The dealership is like hospitality,” he says.

The hospitality industry is commonly defined as including lodging, food and beverage service, travel, and entertainment. So at first, it’s hard to see the comparison: They don’t serve food or drinks at Matt LaFontaine Automotive. Nor does the company offer music or dancing, and while cars are used to travel from one place to another, the Grayling dealership is not a travel destination.

Dig a little deeper, however, and you can see how LaFontaine comes to that conclusion. Both jobs involve getting to know the customer so they can anticipate their wants and needs, whether it’s the color interior they prefer or how they like their steaks done.

“We know the people,” LaFontaine says. “We put notes on each customer—we know what they eat or drink. When they celebrate a birthday or anniversary, everybody knows it, and we make it special.”

Seizing an Opportunity

LaFontaine says opening the restaurant came about through his and Christine’s commitment to the city and the belief it was on the cusp of a resurgence. As members of Grayling’s Downtown Development Association and Chamber of Commerce, they marked the expansion of Kirtland Community College’s campus along with the expansion of the nearby military base as a hub for military drone technology development as signs the city was growing. They believed Grayling could—and should—become a destination.

So when others saw an empty building downtown, they saw an opportunity. “Three years ago, a brewery closed on Michigan Avenue downtown,” says LaFontaine. “We didn’t like an empty building.” So they set out to do something about it, purchasing the building with an eye to making it into a full-service restaurant.

While many restaurants spring from a vision of a cuisine, or a set of family recipes they think others will like, the LaFontaines began with the dream of creating a restaurant that would serve both the area and those traveling through.

“We bought the building before planning. We started from scratch. What would be best?” he says they asked themselves. Their answer? “What was missing was an elevated dining experience,” LaFontaine says.

He notes that those looking for a higher-end dining experience had to drive 35 or 40 miles or more. With the people who vacationed or had second homes in the area on Lake Margrethe or Higgins Lake to those fly-fishing the Au Sable River, plus those who might stop in Grayling on their way north from downstate, he believed there was a market that was ready and waiting.

Their next step was finding the right person to lead the way in the kitchen. LaFontaine met Chef Jarad Bissell in the Dallas area, and the two hit it off. The LaFontaines relied on Bissell’s experience to help them build out the concept, and the restaurant itself. “We developed it with his lead,” LaFontaine says. “He was making us food in his apartment before we opened.”

But what about cuisine? “Most people like Italian,” he says, and with Bissell on board they were on their way. “We’re fortunate to have a chef with decades of experience, Italian experience in Texas, and roots in Michigan.”

Building the Menu

Not that they left it all in Bissell’s hands. “My wife loves sea bass. I’ve got to make sure we have a wedge salad. It’s the most talked-about item—people will order a wedge salad, soup, and a martini.”

So they had a couple starting points. Under Bissell’s guidance, they developed a menu that reflects traditional Italian favorites familiar to American palates, but also selections that reflect a broader sense of Italian fare.

Appetizers like bruschetta, pastas including fettucini Alfredo and spaghetti Bolognese, and entrees such as chicken Parmesan and desserts including tiramisu are prominently displayed on the menu. But so are crispy fried shrimp with a garlic goat cheese fondue, pan-roasted salmon with mushroom risotto and tomato champagne broth, and pan-seared diver scallops served over Asiago-stuffed gnocchi. (And don’t forget the vanilla-bean crème brûlée.)

Chef Bissell is also continually including specials that change depending on what is available. That’s where the sea bass comes in, along with things like halibut, pork chops, and more.

“The dishes are magical. The steaks are a huge part,” LaFontaine says of the New York strip, center-cut filet and espresso ribeye.

LaFontaine says the choice of cuisine also readily lent itself to a selection of Italian and other wines. “The wines are fantastic. We do a wine tasting with customers.”

Making the Model Work

It all adds up to what the LaFontaine compares favorably with high-end restaurants in big cities, whether in Michigan or elsewhere. “You can step into a fine dining restaurant like in New York or Chicago or California,” he says. “It’s the pace we wanted. It’s comfortable, it’s pleasant, the food’s amazing, obviously.”

When it’s suggested that Grayling has not typically been seen as a place to go, but a place to go through on the way to somewhere else, LaFontaine agrees. “It was a drive-through,” he says of the city.

So could a restaurant that tries to attract people who might have been previously inclined to pass on by actually work? LaFontaine admits there were doubts at first, as he was told a restaurant that charged $45 for an entrée wouldn’t work. But the response from its first year and a half would suggest it has. Beyond that, LaFontaine points to the example of a couple who told him this was just what Grayling had been missing.

“Fifty years ago there was a hotel in downtown Grayling. That’s where you went. It’s been closed for 30 years,” he says. “Two or three months in we had an older couple, he was in a suit and tie, she was in a nice dress. He said, ‘I haven’t been able to take this young lady out for dinner in Grayling in 30 years.’ … It’s a blessing to see that.”

LaFontaine then goes a step further, noting that Grayling’s overall reputation is changing, and Mimi and Pipi’s is only part of the reason why.

“It’s now a destination,” LaFontaine claims, citing restaurants and attractions such as Ray’s BBQ, Brews & Blues, Paddle Hard Brewing, and the recently-expanded Spike’s among them. “You can come walk around. Downtown is an environment like Harbor Springs or Petoskey,” he says. “Pubs, live music—the culture has really changed.”

The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4-10pm. The schedule was set up to play to the clientele the LaFontaines wanted to attract and to help staff have regular hours without overworking or having to look elsewhere for a second job. “We wanted the right staff, and they could learn the customers and have a family life.”

As for the success of Mimi and Pipi’s, it all goes back to that hospitality theme. “Every day is somebody’s first day [here]. We want to treat everybody like that,” LaFontaine says. “I’ve been in the car business 35 years. This is the most dynamic thing I’ve ever done.”

Finally, why the name Mimi and Pipi’s? LaFontaine says it was inspired by his grandmother and grandfather, and now reflects his and Christine’s own status as grandparents. “Our grandson calls us that. My grandparents were also called that,” he says. “We wanted someplace that sounded like home. This sounds like home to us.”

Find Mimi and Pipi’s at 118 E Michigan Ave in Grayling. (989) 745-7777; mimiandpipis.com