Living the High Life (Inn)
- kellison71
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
“Opening Friday, High Life Inn, 1 ½ miles south of Hess on Dixie, Big Fish Fry, Friday – all you can eat, good music – best of beer.”
-The Saginaw Daily News, September 21, 1934.
For four decades the High Life Inn was a destination for Sunday dinners, special events, public celebrations and everyday dining. Opening during the Great Depression, advertising highlighted value: “All meals 50c – nothing higher.” And a 1937 advertisement asks: “Why eat at home when we serve a 2-pound steak dinner for 70c ?” Indeed, why would one?
The building was a house-like structure at 5403 East Genesee. The High Life Inn was located beyond the city limits and beyond the Saginaw County fairgrounds. However, it was still an easy drive from the city. Almost immediately, it became a go-to venue.
By 1945, advertising proclaimed:
“Fable: Smarty, Smarty, gave a party . . .and everyone who had been invited came, and those who weren’t invited felt real sad for they liked the parties at the High Life Inn because the food was always so good, and the new manager always made such nice arrangements.”
“Moral: Always plan to have your parties at the High Life Inn.” (The Saginaw News, October 5, 1945.)
In 1947, advertising announced the High Life was the “Place Saginaw Had Been Waiting For,” and it was newly redecorated. In 1946, the High Life Inn was purchased by Chris P. Psetas. Born in Greece in 1903, Psetas would operate the High life Inn for 28 years – he and his brother operated restaurants in Detroit and another in Saginaw.
“When Chris bought it the High Life was a small place with a kitchen huddled in a basement corner. The rest of it was about as humble. Then it accommodated only 65 diners.
As Chris prospered by working long hours and serving quality food and drinks at moderate prices, he kept a steady building expansion and improvement program in effect with earnings. Today the High Life accommodated 800 guests in several dining rooms.” (The Saginaw News, February 12, 1969.)
In 1969, Chris Psetas and Ruth, his wife, retired and sold the business to a group that included their son, William C. Psetas. In 1975, the High Life Inn was sold to Harold and Barbara Jean Stewart and renamed the House of Stewart. On April 13, 1976, the House of Stewart was destroyed in an early morning fire. The Saginaw News reported the fire was so intense that it charred telephone poles and buckled steel girders. The paper reported:
“The restaurant and bar could seat 750 customers, and it was a popular meeting place for professional and community organizations. Dining rooms were booked for 3,600 in the next six weeks.” (The Saginaw News, April 13, 1976.)
By November of that year, the vacant site was listed for sale.
The Recipe: A Shrimp Cocktail - in the Spirit of the High Life Inn
This is a tribute recipe. We could not locate an actual High Life Inn Recipe.* If you have one, please feel free to share it with the CTK.
We agonized about what to make. We were thinking of lobster; however, we simply were not up to the task. Also, it would be a pity to mar our celebration of National Restaurant Month with something labor-intensive...and – we must confess - the CTK lobster tank was quite empty. In the end, we settled on that easy and steadfast mid-century staple – and favorite - a shrimp cocktail. (Although we are not able to verify that a shrimp cocktail was on the High Life Inn menu, it is impossible to believe that it was not.)*
The Recipe: Shrimp Cocktail – in the spirit of the High Life Inn
6** 16 -20 count, pre-cooked, peeled shrimp with tails on (We would have boiled them, but this is National Restaurant Month, and we needed the time to rest for the onslaught of the impending holidays.)
At least ½ + ounce of Cocktail Sauce
Ice
Lettuce lead
Cocktail sauce
¼ cup Heinz Chili Sauce
Generous dash of Lee and Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce
Very, Very Generous dallop of horseradish
Preparation:
Thaw shrimp in accordance with supplier’s instructions. Place thawed shrimp over bed of lettuce that is over a bed of ice. Artfully arrange shrimp.
Prepare cocktail sauce as follows: Place chili sauce in mixing bowl. Add horseradish and Worcestershire sauce in increments. Taste frequently – we keep a box of Carr’s Water crackers on hand for this purpose. When you think you achieved the perfect balance, try sauce with one of the shrimp reserved for tasting, adjust again. Taste again. When your supply of shrimp reserved for sampling is depleted, you are ready to serve your shrimp cocktail. We leave it up to you to determine how to present the cocktail sauce – in the center of the cocktail surrounded by shrimp? In a separate serving bowl?
This classic dish is wonderfully paired with a Bombay Sapphire martini; however, that would be an anachronism, Bombay Sapphire was not introduced until the decade after the closing of the High Life Inn.
* Patti Evans, a Castle Museum member, recalls the High Life Inn was noted for its garlic bread. It was so popular that customers often scooped up any remaining slices and used their placemats as carryout containers...As the CTK had already committed to preparing a shrimp cocktail, we were not tempted to change dishes – and we didn’t have any paper placemats.
** We always add a few extra, expecting the cook will need samples for final sauce adjustment.
