Finish Line’s previous owner, Lisa Slade, and new owner, Gavin Carr. Thomas McKenna | Collegian 

Forty-eight years. That’s how long Lisa Slade worked at the Finish Line Family Restaurant before retiring earlier this month.

After starting as a waitress during high school in 1977, Slade took over the diner in 1995. Her life’s work at the Hillsdale diner reached the checkered flag this year, when she sold the restaurant to local business executive Gavin Carr in July.

“I was just flat-out getting tired,” said Slade, who turned 65 in February. “I love what I do, but my body was saying, ‘That’s enough.’”

But the Hillsdale diner is staying in the Finish Line family. Carr is the older brother of waitress Krysta Bonner, who has worked at the restaurant since 1993. 

During a pause in her shift last Friday morning, Bonner sat next to Slade at a back table in the diner and recounted how she told her brother last winter that Finish Line was for sale. 

“Well, he was looking for something else to do, talking about restaurants and stuff,” Bonner said. “I said, ‘Finish Line’s for sale,’ thinking it wouldn’t go anywhere from there. He was just curious.”

Carr called the diner. Bonner picked up.

“Do you remember that day?” Bonner asked Slade. “I saw my brother’s name come up on the caller ID, and it actually scared me, because I thought something bad had happened with my kids or my family. But he said, ‘I just want to talk to Lisa — does she have a minute?’”

Carr and Slade closed on the sale July 21.

“I had it for sale probably for a year and a half, and got a few inquiries, but nothing solid, until Gavin came along,” Slade said.

Before buying the Finish Line, Carr served as a vice president of a Tier 1 automotive company in Litchfield, Michigan.

“I worked there for 33 years and just decided it was time for something new,” Carr said.

Besides working as a waiter and night kitchen manager at American diner chain Big Boy after graduating high school, Carr said he had no restaurant experience. In the weeks following the sale, Carr said Slade would help him resolve issues when he was starting out.

Slade and Carr both agreed on a difficult change for local businesses over the past 30 years.

“One big thing that’s changed is the labor market,” Slade said. “It used to be no problem getting the help that you wanted in any position, but over the years, that has changed. Even before COVID, it was changing. COVID definitely threw it for a tailspin.”

Carr has expanded the hours for the restaurant. Finish Line has added hours on Monday and Thursday nights, now closing at 8 p.m. instead of 3 p.m.

“There’s been a lot of the community that’s always come up and said, and probably to Lisa, too, ‘When are you going to be open more in the evenings?’” Carr said.

Carr said they’re not taking anything off the current menu yet, but may try to add other items.

“Some new things that maybe can attract some other clientele, like a higher grade bacon as an example, or certain cheeseburgers or new sandwiches that we came up with that are priced a little bit more appropriately,” Carr said. “That may not appeal necessarily to the senior citizen crowd, but college kids, people that are still working, it might appeal enough.”

Carr said supply costs have already increased since he bought the restaurant.

“I’ve only had it for three months, and material costs have gone up probably 2-3% in three months,” Carr said. “Other than eggs — they have actually dropped a little bit. But everything else has still gone up.”

Thirty years ago, Slade suddenly took over the restaurant when the previous owner died in a car crash while driving home from work. At the time, she was the manager and had the opportunity to purchase the restaurant. She did.

“It was kind of scary, because you’re putting your everything on the line,” Slade said. “But I had worked here for so long that, at that point, I felt comfortable in my knowledge of what to do. So it wasn’t that scary either. I just felt like I should do it, and I could do it.”

She said she has dreams about still running the restaurant.

“They’re good dreams, but restaurants are a tricky deal,” Slade said. “I’ll tell you the secret to a successful restaurant. You have to have good service, and you have to have good food at a reasonable price. That’s all you have. But it’s tricky to get all of those three things at the same time.”

Carr said he expects challenges ahead. Does he have any horror stories?

“Which week?” Carr replies. “I told the staff the other day that I think this will make 10 weeks with one week in 10 that I haven’t had to call a repair tech. I’ve had a heating element go off. I’ve had a water softener that had to be replaced. I’ve had three calls on air conditioning — that’s probably just maintenance on the coolers, though. We had to tear the cash register apart the other morning when we were open and busy because the drawer got jammed up inside it and we couldn’t get it open.”

“Anyway, this has been a good week so far,” Carr said. “If I can get through this week and the next, it’ll be a record.”

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