Don’t call it a comeback, but one of Leelanau County’s most beloved institutions is showing new signs of life this week – and could, just maybe, be back for good, depending on how the next few months go.

Fischer’s Happy Hour in Northport made waves late last month when it announced on Facebook that, beginning November 6, the restaurant would be open for business every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the foreseeable future, with hours of 12-8pm.

The news came after what has proven to be an unpredictable year for the popular tavern, which announced plans last November to close its doors for good after 51 years in business. In fact, it was almost exactly a year ago that owners Kristi Fischer and Brian Hafner (pictured) shared that they had “come to the hard conclusion that we were both ready to take a step back.” Happy Hour subsequently operated through the end of 2022, celebrated its last day of business on New Year’s Eve, and then went dark. When the restaurant officially hit the market in April, it seemed to reaffirm that the end of an era had indeed arrived.

If the past six months have shown anything, though, it’s that Fischer’s Happy Hour might still have some gas left in the tank – with Fischer and Hafner staying on as owners, no less.

This past summer, the couple began hosting a variety of pop-ups and private events at their old Northport space, igniting chatter that Fischer’s Happy Hour had been resurrected. In September, Fischer confirmed to the Leelanau Ticker that the restaurant was still for sale, but also said she and Hafner were having fun “trying new things and still finding ways for the community to get some of their favorite menu items.”

Despite the pop-up events, this week marks the first time since New Year’s that Fischer’s Happy Hour has operated with normal hours and a fixed menu. That menu includes beloved Happy Hour staples like the bar broasted chicken and the “Famous Chicken Dinner,” as well as a variety of burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads, sides, and desserts.

When asked whether the new hours represent a true, permanent return of Happy Hour, Fischer says she and Hafner are taking things “one month at a time.”

“We just really thought opening three days a week – and focusing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – is good for the area, because there’s nowhere to eat those days; everyone’s kind of closed [at the start of the week],” Fischer says. “And then we had staff that wanted to work, and we personally just kind of missed it, too.”

Evidently, Fischer and Hafner weren’t the only ones who missed Happy Hour. All three days this week, Fischer says the restaurant was “summer-level busy,” with a huge influx of local customers – many of them old Happy Hour regulars the proprietors haven't seen in awhile.

“It felt so good to get the locals in here again,” Fischer says, noting that most of the pop-ups she and Hafner hosted this summer drew a clientele of primarily out-of-towners. “A lot of local people just don’t go out to eat in the summer, because it’s so busy; I’m one of those people! So, it was fun to be summer-level busy, but with all people we knew. I had a lot of people saying, ‘It feels like we’re coming home’ and stuff like that, which is such a nice compliment.”

Fischer's hope is to keep Happy Hour operating in this three-days-a-week fashion through the winter. “We’ll see, but if this week is any indication, and if we can keep up some of this momentum, then we would love to stay open,” she tells the Leelanau Ticker. The restaurant is also still doing catering and private events on weekends, though Fischer says she’s “totally open” to switching regular hours to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at some point this winter if that’s where the demand seems to be. “We’re just going to listen to the customers.”

Longer term, Fischer isn’t ready to scrap plans to sell the business, but also isn’t ruling out a scenario where she and Hafner decide to re-commit to Happy Hour for the long haul. The business is currently still listed for sale at the original $1.5 million price, which Fischer says has drawn “a lot of lookers” and a few more serious inquiries. As she notes, though, “the average restaurant sale takes two and a half years.” Fischer and Hafner plan on using that time to decide what comes next.

“The key takeaway from the last three days has been that we feel so beloved by the community,” Fischer concludes. “It has been a nice reminder that we love what we do. And if we can strike a balance here before a buyer comes along, then we may find a new path forward.”