Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A long-running, popular breakfast and lunch spot in downtown Pinckney closed quietly over the weekend.

Sunday was the official last day of operation for Aunt Betty’s, located at 126 West Main Street.

The smell of breakfast, lunch, and nostalgia, and bright red stools welcomed old timers, regulars, and even strangers who became friends over the years.

It’s bittersweet and wasn’t expected to happen so quickly, per Owners AJ Wynn and Trisha Donahee.

AJ bought the restaurant in 2018 from the original family that had opened it back in 1965. Running a restaurant is an extreme amount of work and both have other jobs and a young daughter Zoey – who turns 3-years-old this Christmas – so they’ve been discussing future options.

When their cook caught word of that, Donahee said she thinks it scared him so he decided to leave and move on. She said they really didn’t want to scramble to find, hire, and train someone new for the next two or three weeks – which is why they closed this past weekend.

While they had only been talking about future options, Donahee said she kind-of took that as a sign that maybe this was the right time to end things – although admittedly, not the best way.

No final decisions have been made and no contracts have been signed. At this point, Donahee said they’re not sure exactly what will happen there. She said maybe another restaurant comes in, maybe someone purchases the building and re-opens Aunt Betty’s – “it’s all up in the air”.

The building/business is not currently listed for sale, but Donahee said they are certainly open to all ideas and offers. A couple have been presented thus far; one from someone interested in purchasing the building and another from someone wanting to lease the building to have something new of their own.

Donahee again stressed that no final decisions have been made, but said the last thing they want to do is leave it as an empty building. She said “Pinckney is a small town and the less you have in it, the smaller it feels so we want to add something to the community that people will like and they’ll enjoy in the future”.

Donahee has been juggling the two jobs and working seven days a week from 5:30am in the morning to whatever time at night - all while trying to raise Zoey and make quality family time. With her working so much, she said she’s lost out on time watching Zoey grow and experiencing things with her – and she doesn’t want to miss out on more. Donahee added she’s not really sure what the future will bring for the business or building, but she is looking forward to being able to slow down.

Aunt Betty’s has been their lifestyle and routine ever since Zoey was born - which Donahee said will definitely be an adjustment for their daughter to not go to the restaurant every day.

Donahee added it’s been awesome getting to know everybody in the community and provide a gathering space; and the more time she spent at the restaurant, the more it felt like a second home. “It’s fun and all, it’s great, and I love it, and everyone in the community is awesome” but this past summer was a lot and very overwhelming some days and the restaurant was starting to take over their lives.

Donahee said they’ll not only miss everybody but also miss having everybody getting to watch Zoey grow up. She said it’s been cool to not only see her grow and learn but for everybody be able to experience the “cool little human that she is, cause she’s pretty special and fun”.

Donahee added people who work in the restaurant industry see so many different kinds of people – happy people, grumpy people, picky people, and easygoing people. However, she said everybody who came in was generally very satisfied with their service and their food – and that’s a good feeling.

The business is going out with a great reputation.

Donahee said there was very minimal negative feedback and even if someone was dissatisfied with their meal, they always made it right and still left happy. She added it was a really great feeling knowing they could make so many people happy and the closure is sad but “everything has its time”.