Last Michigan Bobcat Bonnie’s Shuts Down – Is Grand Rapids Location Doomed?

UPDATE: 6/10/25

Last week we told you that following the closure of Bobcat Bonnie's in Ferndale, just one location remained open: Lansing.

That's no longer the case. 

A sign on Bobcat Bonnie's door in Lansing reads that the Michigan Liquor Control has suspended the restaurant's license.

Crain's Grand Rapids reports that owner Matt Buskard confirmed that Bobcat Bonnie's Lansing is closed via a text message and that:

Records show the Michigan Liquor Control Commission suspended the Lansing location's liquor license on Monday because Buskard did not pay three violation fines totaling $450 and two outstanding "dishonored payment" invoices for alcohol purchased in December by a June 3 deadline.

According to Crain's, Buskard also owes more than $1M in tax liens to the state of Michigan. The main Bobcat Bonnie's Facebook page no longer appears to be active. 

This latest development doesn’t bode well for hopes of a Grand Rapids reopening.

Read on for more information. 

ORIGINAL STORY 6/3/2025:

Michigan restaurant chain Bobcat Bonnie’s continues to shrink, with just one location left in the state. The once-buzzy brand, known for its burgers, brunch, and Bloody Mary bar, has faced a wave of closures recently—leaving the fate of a Grand Rapids comeback up in the air.

The Rise and Rapid Expansion of Bobcat Bonnie’s

Owner Matt Buskard opened the first Bobcat Bonnie’s in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood in 2015. From there, the concept expanded across Michigan, with locations in Wyandotte, Ferndale, Ypsilanti, Clinton Township—and eventually, Grand Rapids. At its peak, there were seven restaurants. One was even planned for Kalamazoo, but that never came to fruition.

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The Grand Rapids location opened at Breton Village Mall in the fall of 2021. A big fan of brunch and cocktails, the restaurant was a favorite of mine! I especially liked the cereal shooters, boozy, creamy, mini-drinks made to taste like Fruity Pebbles and other childhood favorites.

Then came a shift.

Grand Rapids Closure and Downtown Delay

Earlier this year, the Grand Rapids Breton Village location closed with plans to relocate downtown. At the time, no new address was shared—only that they were working on it. The closure was positioned as temporary. Currently Bobcat Bonnie's in Grand Rapids is listed on Google "permanently closed." As it stands now, the downtown move is stalled and the future of Bobcat Bonnie’s in Grand Rapids is uncertain.

Now, more closures.

Ferndale Bobcat Bonnie's Shuts Down After Seven Years

On June 2, Bobcat Bonnie’s in Ferndale served its final meal. Buskard announced the news in a Facebook post, writing:

Coming to you with some bittersweet news- but after tomorrow (Monday) Bobcat Bonnie's Ferndale will be closed. I'll keep this short and sweet- we have LOVED being a part of this community. And we are so excited to have another AMAZING operator taking over the space (in due time!)
For our staff- we have announced it to them- and we are ensuring every single one is taken care of. We have a lot of organizing/cleaning/etc. to do!

The identity of the new operator has not been revealed. On June 3, Buskard began selling off the Ferndale restaurant's equipment and décor.

READ MORE: Northeast Grand Rapids Restaurant Closes, Shifts to Event Venue

Only Lansing Location Still Standing

This followed the March closure of the original Corktown location. The Wyandotte restaurant shuttered in January, and last year Clinton Township and Ypsilanti closed. Different reports cited employees alleging issues with payroll along with scheduling, training, and more.

Now just one Bobcat Bonnie's is still standing—in Lansing, which opened in 2024.

👇BELOW: LOCALS SAY THESE ARE GRAND RAPIDS BEST BREAKFAST RESTAURANTS👇

In what appears to be a now-deleted social media post last week, Buskard shared about the business's financial woes and said he was looking for a partner to help stabilize operations. According to Fox 2 Detroit, it read, in part:

We would ideally like to find a partner who can come in, help us stabilize operations, allow us to handle what we are good at (in unit operations, customer service, building the business, getting our quality back, etc.) and they can handle all the financial stuff and bookkeeping (something we have always struggled at.)

READ MORE: Grand Rapids' Pronto Pup Storefront Closes After Three Weeks

Is Bobcat Bonnie’s Coming Back to Grand Rapids?

So, what’s next for Grand Rapids?

When someone asked about the GR location in the comments of the Ferndale closure post—the Bobcat Bonnie’s account replied simply:

Not looking good.

Well, shoot. With the Bobcat Bonnie’s account saying it’s “not looking good,” a downtown Grand Rapids comeback seems unlikely at this point...

I still really hope it happens though! We'll keep an eye on things and update this post as we learn more.