Son continues 50-year legacy of Ted and Marie’s Colonial Inn Restaurant

OSHTEMO TWP., MI –– The Chime Elementary school bus dropped 7-year-old Themi Corakis off at a restaurant on Stadium Drive every day after school.

He skipped down the stairs with his sister and crossed the street, his head raised to the sign across the street: Ted and Marie’s Colonial Inn.

But for Themi, Ted and Marie were just mom and dad.

“I did the dishes, cleaned tables or whatever,” said Corakis. “That’s what people did back then.”

From the age of seven, Corakis learned the restaurant business day by day from his parents, who had moved from Greece to realize his dream.

In the early 1970s, Corakis’ parents landed in Kalamazoo after spending some time in London, Ontario.

His father Ted worked in various restaurants over the next few years until the couple decided to buy their own.

In 1973 they bought the Colonial Inn and made it their own.

“They were very proud of it,” said Corakis. “They bought Ted and Marie’s.”

Today’s Ted and Marie’s Colonial Inn was a restaurant at the same location at 6416 Stadium Drive since the 1940s.

At 85, Marie still comes by to cut potatoes in the back.

She walks past the spatula she has used for over 50 years, now framed on the wall, to a table in the back filled with friends—regulars of the restaurant—and greets them with a strong Greek accent and hugs, as she has done for decades.

Ted died 18 years ago. Next to Marie’s spatula hangs a photo of Ted standing proudly in a mountainous area during a visit to Greece.

At the back entrance of the building hangs a painting of the original restaurant with Ted’s name on it – a painting he made for Marie in 1989.

For the past 51 years, Ted and Marie’s has provided the Kalamazoo community with fresh, made-to-order breakfast until Corakis and his wife, Shelly, eventually took over the restaurant.

“If you’re in a rush, you might want to go to McDonald’s. But if you’re looking for a meal that’s actually made for you, this is the place to go,” said Shelly Corakis.

When COVID-19 shut down the country in 2020, the couple wondered if a restaurant serving breakfast could survive, but Corakis refused to offer takeout. He didn’t want to compromise on quality, so the restaurant took the time to remodel instead.

The new ceiling, paint and flooring have brought the restaurant into the 2020s without forgetting the roots of what makes it so special: a friendly atmosphere with high-quality “home cooking”.

“We are seeing more and more young families visiting because our prices are so affordable,” said Shelly Corakis.

Most meals at Ted and Marie’s cost less than $10.

A serving of bacon, potatoes, eggs and toast costs less than $8 at the restaurant.

They are open every day except Sundays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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