Bill Knapp's Restaurant

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Bill Knapp's

Type	Private
Founded	1956
Headquarters	Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
Key people	Clinton B. Knapp, Founder
Industry	Casual dining restaurant

Bill Knapp's is a defunct family-oriented restaurant chain in the Midwest. The restaurant was founded by Clinton B. Knapp (March 13, 1907 – October 15, 1974) in Battle Creek, Michigan. In a late-1990s attempt to become more popular^[1] , the restaurant lost contact with its core clientele, resulting in a 2002 bankruptcy filing, after opening 29 restaurants in 54 years.^[2]

1 The Menu
2 Birthdays
3 Floor plan
4 Failure
5 Footnotes
6 References

[edit] The Menu

Bill Knapp's featured a menu primarily filled with typical family dining items. The menu included a limited breakfast, sandwiches, baskets, luncheon and dinner plates. A children's menu, featuring meals named for animals, was also offered. Recipes for their fried chicken, bean soup, vegetable soup, onion rings, au gratin potatoes, and chocolate cake (later purchased by Awrey Bakeries)^[3] were favorites. A popular dessert was the "Cake Deluxe" (chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge topped with whipped cream. The chain ultimately grew to 69 restaurant located in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Florida, and employed a central commissary located in Battle Creek, Michigan. Locations replenished inventory on a daily basis with its own fleet of trucks.

[edit] Birthdays

Celebrants at Bill Knapp's were treated to a Bing Crosby recording of "Happy Birthday" played on the restaurant's sound system, with wait staff and other patrons occasionally joining the singing. A "birthday discount" was given as a percentage off the bill based on the celebrant's age; a 100th birthday resulted in a free meal. Wedding anniversaries were also honored with a cake and a Bing Crosby recording of "The Anniversary Song".

[edit] Floor plan

Familiarity was one key aspect to Bill's Knapp's success, and was perhaps most noticeable in the floor plan of the restaurant. All of the stores had the same design: a T-shaped building with dining rooms in each wing of the T. The kitchen was located at the crosspoint of the three wings.

[edit] Failure

Heavily frequented by senior citizens, some people dubbed it "God's waiting room"^[4]. In 1998, in reaction to this aspect of their reputation, 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 changes included revising old building exteriors with newer, hipper color schemes, and further changes, including the installation of video games in restaurants.^[5]^[6] Apparently, a veneer of youth culture was the last thing Bill Knapp's regulars wanted. In 2001, Bill Knapp's tried to reverse course by announcing that "The Tradition is Back", but by then it was too late. By 2002, the chain's last restaurant had closed.^[7]