MJ Werner is the current co-owner of Swingbelly’s in Michigan City. This year marks the 40-year anniversary of this family-owned restaurant being open.
Werner’s father opened the restaurant in 1983 after getting inspiration from a restaurant he stumbled upon during a trip to Iowa. He decided he no longer wanted to be an iron worker and began to bring his restaurant vision to Northwest Indiana.
“It's a local, homegrown, family-style restaurant,” Werner said. “You can bring your kids, you can bring your family, or you can stop in just for a quick bite to eat as you're passing through. It's kind of like having a place like your own home.”
The atmosphere of Swingbelly’s allows for a comfortable and relaxed family dining experience. Werner explained the employees work to create a positive atmosphere with good food and good energy.
“Since we've been in business for 40 years this year, everyone has memories from when they were kids,” said Werner. “It's a generational customer base that we have established. One of our slogans is ‘great food and spirits,’ and that really rings true because we've got stellar food and all-around good spirits to make for a good time.”
This establishment has placed an emphasis on creating a positive and welcoming environment for community members. Werner’s favorite part of his job is providing customers with good food, good service, and making sure customers are well taken care of.
“Service and hospitality go hand in hand with making sure that people are taken care of,” Werner said. “If they're having a bad day, they come in, and you’re lifting their spirits. If they're celebrating something or going through something, this is the place to heal all in a sense.”
Ensuring customers are taken care of no matter what they are going through is one of Werner’s main priorities. Swingbelly’s also provides a great local option for summer tourists while they are in town.
“A small town like Michigan City needs places like this, especially for a lot of the tourists that we get here in summer homes in the Long Beach area and along the lakefront,” Werner said. “It's important for every town to have local establishments so that it's not completely run by corporations and disconnected from the community types of places.”
Locally run restaurants directly support the employees and their families, and Werner explained how, despite how mentally draining and physically exhausting working in a restaurant can be, it is important to take care of employees and ensure their needs are met so they can provide for the customers.
Many of the employees of Swingbelly’s have been there for over 20 years including Werner’s co-owner Bret Palmer and his wife Natalie Palmer.
All of these elements combined create a great atmosphere for both community members, tourists, and employees.
“It all translates into one big harmony of kindness, like a big, giant flow of positive energy. If that's all there, it is set up for success,” Werner said.
For more information regarding Swingbelly’s, please visit swingbellys.org.