Michigan’s Last Sign of the Beefcarver Closes Sunday After Nearly 70 Years

Sunday is your last chance to eat at Sign of the Beefcarver in Royal Oak.

Customers have been packing the dining room since the news broke. The restaurant says it will close for the day once it runs out of food.

Here’s what led to Michigan’s last Sign of the Beefcarver location closing, and what to know before you go.

A Cafeteria Since 1957

Sign of the Beefcarver began in 1957 as an Early American-themed cafeteria with waitress service.

Jack Joliat and Bob LaJoie founded the Royal Oak restaurant that year, according to the Historical Society.

Its comfort-food menu included roast beef, beef liver and onions, turkey and dressing, meatloaf and baked scrod.

The chain promoted its dishes as “baked or steamed, never fried.”

If you’re deciding what to order, a food critic’s 2024 meal was scrod, mac and cheese, greens and apple-pecan-caramel pie.

The restaurant’s closing announcement cites 70 years of continuous family-run operation, while a Detroit TV station says nearly 70.

From 1957, that’s 69 years.

Down to One Location

By 1972, Sign of the Beefcarver had seven more restaurants around Metro Detroit.

All seven have since closed.

The Dearborn location on Michigan Avenue was cafeteria-style and opened around 1968.

It closed in June 2018 after more than 50 years.

Declining business in recent years led to the closing.

Employees learned of it at a meeting that Monday morning.

Some customers on Facebook were upset that there was no warning.

The building was reportedly sold for redevelopment.

The company offered Dearborn employees jobs at the Royal Oak restaurant, but some workers couldn’t drive 30 minutes or more to work.

Another Dearborn restaurant about a half-mile away offered to hire displaced workers.

You’ll find the last one at 27400 Woodward Ave. in Royal Oak, north of 11 Mile.

Costs Behind the Closing

In its Facebook post, Sign of the Beefcarver cites historically high roast beef prices and a government-ordered pandemic shutdown it never fully recovered from.

Government policies it calls onerous add to the burden.

Raising prices enough to cover record costs would have made the food too expensive for many people, the post says.

The restaurant says it has always tried to offer exceptional value and quality in the friendliest family atmosphere possible.

It can no longer cover the costs of operating and still offer diners that value.

It describes the closing as the result of many factors, not one.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service forecasts retail beef and veal prices to rise 9.4% in 2026.

That works out to about 94 cents more on every $10 you spend on beef at the store.

Beef and veal prices at the store were 5.9% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier.

The same forecast has food-away-from-home prices, which cover the restaurant and other foodservice purchases you make, rising 3.5% in 2026.

What Michigan Operators Reported

You can see the pressure beyond one dining room in an April survey from the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA), which ClickOnDetroit's coverage of the closing cites.

In it, 55% of Michigan operators saw fewer customers, compared with 46% of operators nationally.

For sales, 51% reported same-store declines in March, versus 39% nationally.

Food costs were the top challenge for 23% of Michigan operators, ahead of labor costs at 19%.

The association links the pullback largely to inflation-driven cuts in discretionary spending, including dining out.

Woodward Avenue Traditions

ClickOnDetroit's report on the closing says Sunday dinners, post-zoo lunches and Dream Cruise traditions are coming to an end.

If you've ever joined the Woodward Dream Cruise, you've driven the 16-mile loop from Ferndale to Pontiac, which passes through Royal Oak.

Royal Oak hosted a Car Show in the Park that Friday and Saturday.

The 2026 cruise ran Saturday, Aug. 15.

The Final Days

The restaurant posted the news on Facebook on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Sunday, Oct. 25, is the last day you can eat there.

Customers have packed the dining room since the announcement, which drew more than 1,500 comments on Facebook.

If you're going, arrive early because the restaurant says it will close for the day once it runs out of food.

If you want a piece of the place, fixtures, furniture, appliances and decor may be available for sale after closing.

Updates on the sale will be posted on social media.

The restaurant credits its staff as the main reason it stayed open this long.

It encourages local business owners to reach out to employees directly.

Some employees have been with the company for 50 years and are unsure what comes next.