My go to breakfast place in my home town. This is probably where I was introduced to Country Fried Steak.

Michael's AM is a traditional breakfast and lunch restaurant located in the Cuyahoga River Valley between Cuyahoga Falls and Akron, Ohio. Nestled at the three-way junction of Akron-Penninsula, West Portage Trail, and North Portage Path roads, it's easy to get to from Bath, Revere, Akron, and Cuyahoga Falls. It is in a river valley, so in bad weather (especially snow) it may be a treacherous drive.

The restaurant offers booths, tables, and a counter; they expanded a while back to encompass a next store business, so it can accommodate a larger crowd that it did in the early days.

From their web site:

Michael’s AM is a beloved 35-year-old restaurant located in the heart of Akron. Our menu items are made from scratch, and we strive to use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Why? Because we believe local, made-from-scratch food tastes better and is better for you!

The menu is comfort food driven, offering traditional breakfast dishes (including Country Fried Steak) and all of it is well prepared and tasty. Michael's doesn't go out of the way to offer anything fancy nor do they have much in the way of specialties, unique dishes that only they make. Instead, they simply offer excellent food at reasonable prices in a comfortable environment.

My favorite thing about Michael's is that they open early; they currently open from 7 AM to 7 PM Sunday through Saturday (every day of the week). Back before the pandemic, they opened at 6:30 AM, so I could get in and get breakfast there before anyone at home awoke.

Another cool thing about this restaurant is that employees seem to stay a very long time. There are waitresses working there that served me for more than 10 years (and more) which means its a good place to work and the employees are pretty friendly.

Restaurant history

Originally started as a breakfast spinoff from local restaurant Jackie McConnell's called McConnell's AM. Later purchased by a McConnell's employee named Michael (I don't know his last name) and renamed to Michael's AM. The restaurant has been in business for more than 39 years (according to an online publication called Cool Cleveland).

Our history with the restaurant

I frequented the restaurant for many years before I married. When our twins were born, Michael's was the first restaurant we took them to. Michael's is were our children learned how to act in a restaurant, stay in their seats, and eventually order off a menu. Whenever I visit Akron, I always make time to grab breakfast there either by myself or with old friends.