Last summer I travelled to Blomkest MN for an antique power show. Ever since I became interested in photography a few years ago, I try to maximize the new things I see. So I’ll take a slightly longer route sometimes to get somewhere if I have the time, just so I can pass through a town I haven’t been in before.
Lake Lillian a town of a little more than 200 people in Kandiyohi county MN was a couple miles off the direct route to Blomkest, but worth the visit. I stopped for lunch on my way back from West Central Antique Power Collectors Show that I had went to earlier in the morning. Like another blogger I know, I always enjoy finding a restaurant that features real cooking and not just items that come off of the food service truck.
The Food Garage in Lake Lillian Minn.
The Food Garage is a remodeled Ford auto dealership.
Inside the Food Garage in Lake Lillian Minn.
“Dennis and Rachelle Jacobson renovated what had been Lake Lillian’s Ford Garage into a restaurant. The building’s location, in the heart of the town’s business district, was the mainstay for the William Johnson Motor Company. The firm operated from 1923-84.” (1)
The restaurant features plenty of seating for large and small groups of diners. The special on the day I stopped was a barbecue pork sandwich. It came as a slab of pork on a bun with some barbecue sauce and featured slaw and fries as sides. It was very good. The service was good. I was there about 11 am and it was really starting to get busy when I left at 11:45. If you are traveling on MN 7 through the west central part of the state, it’s worth the stop.
I shot some other photos of the town on as I was leaving.
Main Street Lake Lillian, Minn. Looking North from the Food Garage.
Looking South from the Food Garage
U.S. Post Office, Lake Lillian, Minn. 56253
K&M Liquor, Lake Lillian, Minn.
I did not know the fate that awaited the liquor store when I was there that day in June.
K&M Liquor after the fire.
Just three months later, almost to the day, the liquor store would burn. I didn’t know that until I happened to be driving through Lake Lillian in February of this year and took a drive down main street and saw the fire damaged liquor store. I was hoping no on was injured because I remembered before when I was there that it was apparent people lived above the business. A quick search on the internet revealed the following snippet.
LAKE LILLIAN — The Sept. 23 fire that extensively damaged the K&M Liquor building in downtown Lake Lillian has been ruled an arson fire by the State Fire Marshal and the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s office.
I found no indication of any injuries sustained in the fire, so hopefully there were none.
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Thanks for sharing your food find with us, Ryan. This looks exactly like my kind of place. (Thanks for the shout out.) And that pork sandwich sounds delicious.
I so appreciate your photos because you’re showing me towns I’ve never visited and you know how I love these off-the-beaten-path communities.
You are correct about the Liquor store fire–nobody was hurt. The apartment upstairs was not occupied, and the fire happened at night. The grain elevator and grocery store/gas station have closed, but the Food Garage is still going strong.
Thanks for confirming the fire and the update on the rest of the town. I did not know the grocery store / gas station and elevator closed. It’s inconvenient when people need to run out of town for groceries and gas. Glad to hear the Food Garage is doing well.