Bill Knapp's was an American
family restaurant
Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while catego ...
chain. It was founded by
Clinton B. Knapp (March 13, 1907 – October 15, 1974), in
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...
, in 1948. The chain operated in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, with more than 60 locations at its peak.
The menu
Bill Knapp's featured a menu primarily filled with typical family dining items. The menu included a limited breakfast, sandwiches, baskets, and luncheon and dinner plates. A children's menu, featuring meals named for animals, was also offered. Recipes for their fried chicken, bean soup, ham croquettes, vegetable soup, onion rings, au gratin potatoes, and chocolate cakes (later purchased by Awrey Bakeries) were also featured. Locations replenished inventory on a daily basis from the commissary in Battle Creek, Mich., with their own fleet of trucks. Bill Knapp placed great emphasis on the quality and freshness of the food, with added emphasis on preparing the food "from scratch."
[Bill Knapp's is gone, but not forgotten](_blank)
BattleCreekEnquirer.com Retrieved on May 14, 2009
Birthday and anniversary discounts
Bill Knapp's was well known for its birthday and anniversary discounts. Diners visiting Bill Knapp's on their birthdays were entitled to a percentage off of their bill based on their age. Thus, a guest 62 years old would receive a 62% discount. Those celebrating a wedding anniversary were treated to a whole chocolate cake to take home, and in some restaurants, managers gave birthday patrons a cake to take home in addition to their discount. While the cake was being presented,
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
's recording of "Happy Birthday" and "The Anniversary Song" would be played over the restaurant's sound system for birthdays and anniversaries. It was widely said that anyone over 100 would actually be paid by the restaurant (such as a 101% discount on a 101st birthday), and a man who ate at the West Lansing location for his 101st birthday received a free meal, and a check for 1% of his bill--7 cents.
Demographics
Bill Knapp "was interested in providing decent food for a reasonable price with friendly service." The target clientele of his restaurants was families, often three generations eating together at long tables pushed together. As the decades passed, the clientele remained nearly the same as it had when the first restaurant of the chain opened in 1948. By the 1980s and 1990s, with the breakdown of extended families, the clientele was predominantly senior citizens.
In 1998, after its sale to an entrepreneur from California, Bill Knapp's instituted a "That was then, this is WOW" marketing campaign, as well as an overall revamp of the chain's image. The new ownership hung colorful shower curtains between eating booths, played rock and roll music (often loudly) throughout the dining areas, revised old building exteriors with newer, hipper color schemes, and further changes, including the installation of
televisions
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
and
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
in restaurants.
The "That was then, this is WOW" campaign not only changed the interior and exterior décor, but the menu as well. Prior to 1996, Bill Knapp's cuisine was prepared, home style, in a commissary which supplied all of its restaurants daily or every other day. In an effort to cut costs, the commissary model was abandoned in favor of purchasing food from food services local to each restaurant, as well as substituting Lipton soups and Kraft macaroni and cheese for the previously home-made versions provided by the commissary.
Downfall
This overhaul of the chain's demographics, however, proved unsuccessful. Loyal diners felt alienated by the changes made; abandonment of Mr. Knapp's "from-scratch" philosophy drove these loyal customers away for good. Furthermore, the campaign failed to recruit the younger-family crowd, resulting in further erosion of the chain's customer base.
Another reason for the shift away from the made-from-scratch philosophy was a Listeria outbreak in the early 1990s. As the restaurant struggled to recover from the negative publicity, many new, updated food safety standards were initiated. Some food preparation that was taking place in the restaurants had to be moved back to the commissaries, to be monitored more closely. This was not as cost effective, as more foods needed to be processed and frozen to ensure safety. As commissary costs continued to rise, more of Bill Knapp's signature foods had to be outsourced to larger processing facilities.
By 2000, the commissaries were becoming little more than distribution centers. Fresh, handmade hamburger patties were replaced by frozen, eggs by a powdered substitute, and even the marinated chicken breasts were coming in frozen packages. (Raw chicken breasts had been marinated overnight in the restaurants.) While the organization elevated food safety standards, higher costs combined with lower quality led the chain to its ultimate downfall.
In 2001, Bill Knapp's tried to reverse course by announcing that "The Tradition is Back," restoring the original menu and some original décor, but by then it was too late.
On Tuesday May 21, 2002, Bill Knapp’s filed for voluntary
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. At the time the company operated 29 restaurants.
By the end of 2002, the chain's last restaurant had closed.
A company controlled by Awrey's heir Marty Carrier acquired the rights to the Bill Knapp's name and dessert recipes in 2005 and began marketing Bill Knapp's bakery products in grocery stores as well as an outlet store in
Saline, Michigan
Saline ( ') is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,948 at the 2020 census. The city borders Saline Township to the southwest, and the two are administered autonomously.
History
Before the 18th century ...
, which opened in 2019.
References
External links
* {{LocalWiki, ann-arbor, Bill_Knapp's
Restaurants established in 1948
Defunct restaurant chains in the United States
Defunct restaurants in the United States
Companies based in Battle Creek, Michigan
Defunct companies based in Michigan
Restaurants disestablished in 2002
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002
1948 establishments in Michigan
2002 disestablishments in Michigan