What makes Yooperman Bar and Grill so special? The story behind it. The family with big hearts. That’s what drew me to seek out the story behind this small establishment, in the middle of nowhere. Detroit Lions Superfan Megan Stefanski (aka Yoopergirl) shares with us the story of how the family’s love for the Detroit Lions transformed a lonely bar and touched the lives of thousands.
Links:
Yooperman’s Bar and Grill Facebook Page
Address:
18017 M-48
Goetzville, MI
Transcript
you always say Lions fans are super loyal. If you're a true blue Lions fan, you've, and you've been there for a long time. You know what it means to be loyal. it's the connections you make, the people you meet. I have a whole family of Lions fans that I see every Sunday. And so I wanted it to showcase our pride, our group of friends and family. And so it's Yooperman's Pride, Football is Family.
Cliff Duvernois:Hello, everyone. And welcome back to Total Michigan, where we interview ordinary people doing some pretty extraordinary things. I'm your host Cliff Duvenois. So today, we're once again up in God's country, up in the UP. And we're talking about one of those staples up here that if you, when you come to the UP, you absolutely should come to because there's such a compelling story that's behind it. And today we're talking with Megan Stefanski from the Yooperman Bar and Grill. Megan, how are you?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:I'm great. How are you?
Cliff Duvernois:I'm great. How are you? I'm doing awesome. Thank you for asking. So before we jump into the interview, why don't you tell us a little bit about what the Yooperman Bar and Grill is?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:It's my family restaurant in Gatesville, Michigan. It was formerly the Gatesville Bar for, Oh, probably 50 or 60 years I'd say. My parents bought it in 2011 and turned it into Yooperman's, based off of my dad's nickname for being a super fan, the Detroit Lions.
Cliff Duvernois:Yes and we're going to talk alot more about that. What kind of food do you serve there?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:We serve a little bit of everything, from burgers, fresh fish, prime rib, everything. Sandwiches and burgers are our main to go thing, and our homemade salad bar.
Cliff Duvernois:So when you talked before and I really do want to explore this when you talked before about your mom and dad buying the grill why did they do that?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:It's something he always wanted to do. He thought it would always be fun, a good way to be oriented with the community. And he always loved to visit, he was a people person, he loved to visit with people. And my mom is an amazing cook. So she does all the cooking, all the recipes that are hers, all the soups, salads, dessert, everything's made by her, homemade.
Cliff Duvernois:homemade. Okay. when your dad decided rebrand it and call it Yooperman, and there's a lot here to unpack, and I want to try to make sure that we go as chronologically as we can from the Yooperman, it was because of why.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:So being a super fan for the Detroit Lions, he was given the nickname Yooperman when he was inducted into the PFUFA Pro football Ultimate Fan Association in 2008 And when he bought the restaurant, they were trying to think of what to call it. And I said, it's a no brainer, Yooperman's Bar and Grill. And he wasn't so sure about it, having his name on it. But, people love it. And, especially kids love the name of it. I've had it called everything. For example, we used to sell ice cream cones. One of our local kids called it Donny Queen, instead of Dairy Queen. Or McDonnie's, for their burgers, instead of McDonald's.
Cliff Duvernois:Now for this, and you said it was an organization of super fans. Is that what that is? Talk to us a little bit about that. that
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:A little bit about that. yeah. Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association, is a compromise of superfans from around the NFL. I was inducted in 2022. My dad was in 2008. it's great. We, support charity. We're all fan of fans. great sportsmanship. It's nice, too, because whenever you go to visit another team, you have someone to tailgate with, someone to sit with, someone that invites you into their city, into their home.
Cliff Duvernois:So what does it take to become a super fan?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:You are given a draft card, usually by someone from your own team. And then you go through a good year of stuff, interviews, meeting people. They want to know that you are what they want for the organization.
Cliff Duvernois:So in these interviews what exactly does that entail?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:They want to know, that you're welcoming to other fans, that you're a good sportsmanship, what you do for charitable activities, things like that. Everybody has their own organization that they support for the most part, and then as a group we do as well.
Cliff Duvernois:And for your dad I understand that he attended every single home game of the Detroit Lions.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Since 1994, yes.
Cliff Duvernois:Every Sunday. Getting up at what time?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Get up about 1:30 2 .Leave at 2:30.
Cliff Duvernois:Now you're growing up in this environment. At what age did you start to take, 'cause you also said you're a super fan, so what age did you start to really show an interest?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:When I was probably 10 to 12 is when I really got into it. Barry Sanders had come on the scene and football was just exciting. You're that age at school where a lot of the other kids were Packer fans. like Brett Favre and all that. We had Barry Sanders. We had a rivalry going on. my family's idea of family vacations was Tigers and Lions games. We went to Detroit, that's what we did.
Cliff Duvernois:We went to the same
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:so that was our thing. And then in 1994, for Father's Day, my mom gave him season tickets.
Cliff Duvernois:So was he just buying the tickets as they came up?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah, we would just go to random games, usually as a family. But yeah, when she bought those season tickets, we, the first game we went to me and my brother and my mom and him. And his plan was only to go to a couple of games every year. And before he knew it, it's very addicting. It's very addicting. Someone would say, I'll drive and off you go. Now,
Cliff Duvernois:Now when we talk about this, because we're talking about the Lions here. And I know that along the way that some sacrifices had to be made because you're talking about things like Thanksgiving Day right because the Lions always play. and Mother's Day falling on Sunday and
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah. So the season always starts, obviously after Labor Day. we always play Thanksgiving. We have a full Thanksgiving feast in the Eastern market at our tailgate. I, when I was a kid, I didn't go, in high school, I would go to a few. and then from college on, we always went for Thanksgiving. He always, of course, went. He hadn't had Thanksgiving with his own mother, my grandma, in 25 years. When COVID hit, I actually, she was just gleeful that I had to come to her house for Thanksgiving. And I was like, how does this work? We get up, we don't eat till noon. It's at a table. It's not standing up in a parking lot. We watch them on TV. This is crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy. It was a new experience.
Cliff Duvernois:Definitely. And cause I know you said you know you went to a couple of games in high school. And you’re off to college. What was it that shifted for you for just going We just going to a couple of games to actually going to every game?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:I was back home and could drive. So when I was in college, my brother and I both lived in mid Michigan. I went to Central and he went to Alma and it was, not that far. We could just meet them on I 75. The main thing though is my dad did not drive. He was never the driver. So someone was driving. So if you were going to the game, you were driving. And so once I was back home, then it was a different story, I was here, we'd leave from here. That's how it worked.
Cliff Duvernois:And then you and your dad would just swap driving positions on the way down at some point.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:He would usually drive to West Branch, and then he was done. he, he liked to drink on Sundays. He always said, The Lions make me drink.
Cliff Duvernois:drink on
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:yeah, I was usually the driver, or one of his friends was the driver.
Cliff Duvernois:Certainly. And we talk before about the concept of super fan. and this is something I would really like to explore. Because and we’ll talk about this a little bit later. You know. Everybody’s geeked about the Lions this year.. There's not a lot of geek going on, and it's easy to be a fan when the team is winning. But we're talking like a whole other level. You guys are actually super fans when the Lions aren't doing so good. So what is it about continuing to support the team during those lean years? I guess I say,
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:I guess it's just, I mean, you always say Lions fans are super loyal. If you're a true blue Lions fan, you've, and you've been there for a long time. You know what it means to be loyal. But, for me, not only do I love football, and I've watched a lot of bad football from the Lions over the years, and good football, but, it's the connections you make, the people you meet. I have a whole family of Lions fans that I see every Sunday. I feel like that's a big part of it.
Cliff Duvernois:And exploring that concept a little bit further. When you were growing up in this, in this environment, was that something that you, is it, was it just, let's go to the games or is it more about also the people that you're with as well?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Both. I mean, The people that would go to a game with us, cause there's four tickets. That's five hours down, five hours back. You really get to know people. And it was a lot of the same people that were going every year. And it was always nice to catch up. And then there was the people that you meet, tailgating. When I was a kid, I didn't enjoy it as much because at the Silverdome, it was a whole new story back then. It was mostly men, and it was rowdiness, and I can remember going to the Silverdome where, airplanes, paper airplanes flying and glass beer bottles flying over your head, and Ford Field and the NFL in general are very much, fan friendly, family friendly now. You see a lot of people taking kids to the games. There's a lot more women involved. but what's also great is the people that go and that become your friends and your family, they're from all walks of life. there's so many of us that, once you get to know each other, you're like, What do you do for a living? Where do you live? I have Lions friends, for example, this weekend coming in from Philadelphia, and Dallas, and London, and Phoenix, and, where else do I have some? Minnesota, all over the U. S. And we saw that in Kansas City, when everyone was very surprised when we told them that Lions fans traveled well. Because I also attend all the away games. And a lot of people didn't want to believe that, especially in Kansas City. We hadn't played there in what, 21, 22 years? And they all kept saying, oh, the two flights or so from Detroit. No, it's not the two flights from Detroit. Every flight from every city was chock full of Lions fans.
Cliff Duvernois:Lions fans. So that's interesting. So that's something I didn't catch in your back story. You go to the away games as well?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yes. Pretty much. I missed, one game in 2021. I
Cliff Duvernois:was horrible of you to do that.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah. Yeah. I pretty much hit them all.
Cliff Duvernois:I think also too, when you're talking about season tickets, you're sitting basically next to the same people. All the time. Yes. get to really know them.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Oh yeah, for sure. just our section alone, so we moved to Ford Field in 2002, And we moved to the current seats, I wanna say 2004. It was, we only, it might have even been in three. We sat in different seats that first year. So we're right over the tunnel. And the people behind me, the people in front of me, the people across the aisle have become family to me. My friend Derek moved to his seats in 2016 and now, we attend a lot of away games together. He comes up every summer to support my charity. The people across the aisle from me, same thing. They were here in July for my hospice benefit. The people behind me were right out of college and dating when I first met them. Now they're married with three kids. I mean you just, you really get to know people. It's like a family. It's like the movie Fever Pitch, I don't know if you've ever watched it. It's based on a Nick Hornsby, novel. And it's about the Red Sox and how they come back after the summer and they're all like, How was your summer? And how was this? And how's the family? Because you know each other so well from sitting there for so long.
Cliff Duvernois:And I would definitely, I want to explore that a little bit more, but for our audience, we're going to take a quick break to thank our sponsors. And when we come back, we're going to hear more about the story behind, Yooper man, and especially what you can expect when you go there. We'll see you after the break. Are you enjoying these amazing stories? Michigan is full of people that are doing some pretty extraordinary things. If you want these amazing stories sent directly to your inbox, head over to total michigan.com. Enter your email address and get them today. What are you going to get? I'm glad you asked. First, you're gonna join our awesome Michigan community Second, you will get an email that includes the top five interviews from the show sent directly to your inbox. Third, you're gonna get exclusive behind the scenes information about the show. There's a lot of things that are happening to grow this movement beyond the confines of just a radio show and a podcast. You'll get advanced notice of upcoming guests and early access to their interviews. Now to get all these goodies, just head over to total michigan.com/join. Enter your email address and join our community today. Hello everyone. And welcome back to Total Michigan, where we talk to ordinary Michiganders doing pretty extraordinary things. I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois. Today, we're talking with Megan Stefanski from the Yooperman Bar and Grill. And we're talking pretty heavy about the Lions and going to the Lions game and how this has been a family tradition for you. But that kind of changed at some point, so why don't you tell us a little bit about what happened to your dad?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:yeah. So the very first week of the 2019 season, my dad passed away actually on the first day of school. I was, I'm a school librarian. So I was heading to school for the year. And he passed away on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. And our first game was the following Sunday. And, it just threw me for a loop. I knew the season was going to be the same, but yet, I was used to going with him. I had to decide who was going to take his place on these games, and how I was going to be able to handle it. Basically, just from there.
Cliff Duvernois:And you chose to keep going to the games.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah, at that point, I felt like it was part of me. I've been doing it for so long. I couldn't stop. And I had such close friends and family down there that I couldn't imagine not seeing them every Sunday.
Cliff Duvernois:So why don't you talk to us about going to that first game? Cause you said he passed away on a Tuesday
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:passed away on a Tuesday. The very first game was in Arizona, so I had a week until we were in Detroit. And the first home game was against the Chargers. So all our Chargers friends were there. There was a big tailgate. A lot of celebrating him. A lot of sadness. The Lions created a video for him, played it on the Jumbotron. The hardest part, I think, was sitting in his seat. I was never allowed to sit in his seat. That was his seat. So now it's my seat. So sitting in that seat for the first game was hard.
Cliff Duvernois:I bet. Now is this because you mentioned before the break about your charity raising money for hospice. is this where this came from?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah. So he had decided in 2015, a friend's wife convinced him to do dancing with the stars, which here in the Sault is a fundraiser for hospice of the UP. And while doing that, he toured the hospice house and got to see what it was all about and decided that was going to be his main charity. we're a very charitable family. And Yooperman's business is as well. If anybody needs help with something, we've hosted many fundraisers. In 2015, we hosted our first hospice fundraiser. And I've always helped him do that. And I've continued it since he passed away. So this last year, we actually raised $25,000, in one day. We have donations from everything from jars of jam, homemade wine, signed Barry Sanders footballs from the Lions, everything you can imagine. People donate, we have a live auction. Cornhole tournament. People just send money. It's great.
Cliff Duvernois:You also talked before about, and I want to go back and explain this a little bit. The Lions did this video tribute to your dad on the jumbotron. So your family is really connected with the Lions.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah. Yeah, they've been great to my family over the years. Mrs. Ford sent my mother, a sympathy card when he passed away. Yes, Mrs. Martha Ford, yes.
Cliff Duvernois:How did that relationship with the Lions start?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:They just know who's their true fans. They knew we was there every Sunday. the 2008 season, when we went 0 16, we were there every game. And you make friends in the organization. And, December of... 2018, which was not the last game before he passed, but the game before was his, it'd been 25 straight years of attending games, his 200th straight game. One of the guys in the office kept telling me, we're going to do something great for him. Just wait. And, so we were down on the field before the game. And then they pulled him out there to congratulate him and gave him Super Bowl tickets. So he, his last NFL game he attended before he passed was... Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Cliff Duvernois:the He must have been geeked.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yeah. he liked it. He said the only thing better would have been if it was the Lions. But, Yeah, so that was awesome of them. But yeah, they're great to my family. They've sent me to the NFL draft the last couple years. They always support my charity. They're great. They purchased copies of the book. I actually got a package for them last week. They mailed me a copy of my book where all the current players had signed it.
Cliff Duvernois:Beautiful. Let’s take a couple of minutes and actually talk about your book. So first off why write a book?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:So every year when I do the Hospice Benefit and I'd said how all my friends come, I'm a huge thank you card person. I send thank you cards for everything. And I always include a little Something in it like a handmade bracelet I find on Etsy or lion stickers or something fun like that So I had a friend who was an illustrator. And she has a business where she helps you publish children's books. And I thought this could be neat I could write a little book about dad and I and just get 50 copies made and give them away as my thank you gifts. So that was the plan. And, as always, my plans go crazy. And I hadn't even seen an actual hard copy of the book. I'd only seen it, laid out on my iPad. And I had told a few of my friends about it. then they ordered it off Amazon. So I was like, I have to order it so I can see it first. I hope it's okay. So after people just started ordering it, i, posted it, or I put a tweet on Twitter saying, here's a little something I've been working on. And within 10 minutes the Detroit Lions retweeted it. And we're like, so excited, just bought several copies for our little cubs. And then one of my friends, who received it first, sent me a picture of him in his Lions gear holding the book. Someone saw that and then they did it. And then someone else did it and they did it. And it just spiraled until people I've only met once or twice, people I've never met, fans from other teams.
Cliff Duvernois:Oh wow.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:It was crazy of them holding photos of the book. And so it just went from there. So how many copies do you think you've
Cliff Duvernois:So how many copies do you think you've sold so far?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Oh, I'd say over 500 for sure.
Cliff Duvernois:Nice.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:after the free press article last week, I've sold another two, 250 of them.
Cliff Duvernois:And, like you said, this was just something that you did just to to share with you and your families. Was it just something to, also to just document your story?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:It was just a bit, like it tells a bit of our story. And it's called Yooperman's Pride. the Lions hashtag and slang is one pride. Most people know that a pride is a group of Lions, a family, a group. And so I wanted it to showcase our pride, our group of friends and family. And so it's Yooperman's Pride, Football is Family. Because I've always said that we've all become a large family.
Cliff Duvernois:And I also too, because I think you're eminently qualified to talk about this topic. Everybody this year is, it just seems like they are pro Lions. I mean, Lions are gonna do great this year. They're just gonna do awesome. I can't open up my, I don't even like really subscribe that much to anything like football. But it's like amazing just how everybody is geeked on the Lions this year. Everybody's on everybody's a fan now. Everybody's a fan. Yes, so talk to me as a true fan. How do you think they're going to do?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:do? I think we're going to have a great season. And it's not even the win number. People are excited again about the Lions. Like it for years It was who wants to go to a game who wants to go like sometimes you have to like beg people to go. And now they're begging me for tickets. And how can you hook me up? And how can we get there? And our home opener is this Sunday and right now? They're standing room tickets only available for 250 a pop which is crazy. They've sold out of season tickets for the first time in Ford Field history. Everybody's excited.
Cliff Duvernois:Everybody's excited. So that's the only tickets they've got left is a standing room tickets. So this is ,the season passes all gone. Regular seats all gone.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yep. Yep. Yep. Players are excited to be there. We're bringing free agents in. We're bringing great coaches in. Coaches are staying that would normally leave. We're, and then after last week's when you can just see the excitement in the air. Oh my god. Yeah, Detroit is just gonna be booming on Sunday. Ford Field is gonna be so loud in there. I'm waiting to see how many false starts the Seahawks have. I'm guesstimating five to six. Because when Lions fans want to be loud, we are loud. And we showed up in kansas City and took over that stadium. That was an amazing win. And that's just the start of it.
Cliff Duvernois:What do you think
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:about
Cliff Duvernois:Dan Campbell?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:I love Dan Campbell. He wants people to think he's a meathead. He loves that. He's very smart. Dan's a good guy. Going back to where I said I always send thank you cards for things. Two drafts ago in Las Vegas I was excited, we had Aiden Hutchison, Local Boy in the first round and Jameson, and I always send the marketing directors and them thank you cards. And I always buy them coffee cards. Well, those of you who know Dan Campbell knows that he loves his coffee his espressos. He's wired up. And so I had sent him a card and wrote Coach, great draft. Super excited about this season. And he actually called me to personally thank me and, ask, about how long I've been a fan and about my family and stuff like that. And I think that's why the players connect with him so much. Is that he cares about all of them. He's excited to be here. I mean, he played for us. and he played for us when it was very rough. When we were not very good at all. And it's funny because they brought back his old jersey. And it's one of the top selling jerseys. who else can say that their coach's jersey from, what, 15 years ago is a top seller.
Cliff Duvernois:And what do you think the Lions will do differently this year than they have in the past?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:They've just, they've really reached out to the fans. They've made the city super proud of them. Everyone wants to be a part of it. The NFL draft is being held in Detroit in the next spring. It's just the excitement in the air. Everybody is excited.
Cliff Duvernois:And what do you think that cause I know that it’s a total team effort. You know you’ve got your coach and you’ve got the players. And for Dan Campbell what do you think he’s going to be thinking about going forward as far as the team goes, what, is going to be the difference there?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Just winning. And having fun winning. it's hard to explain for people who aren't used to going and seeing the difference. But there's just like this electricity in the air. And that's how it was Sunday, like throughout the whole game. Any other year, people would have said S. O. L., Same Old Lions. And we would have lost that game. But, it's just different now. I don't even know how to describe it unless you're used to what it's been. Like, when that game was over and the players were running up to all the fans on the sidelines like our GM Brad was screaming and swearing and running down the sidelines. Our president was high fiving fans. I mean it was just it brings everyone together. When you have a player like for example last night C CJ Gardner Johnson said you know We aren't the Motor City kiddies anymore, We are villains, which Brad our GM had said this fall. I'm gonna be known as the villain. He's I want everyone wearing blue ski masks Sunday, especially on defense. Amazon sold out of blue ski masks last night from Lions fans. I mean, everybody's on board. It's gonna be insane. By 6 a. m. in the market, it's just gonna be crazy, and I can't wait. You'll just feel the electricity in the air.
Cliff Duvernois:I So I guess the next question that I have for you would be this, because there's all of this expectations that the Lions are just going to be great this year. And I'm not saying this because I'm necessarily a pragmatist. Because I know that a lot of people handle expectations well. And other people sometimes like falter. But you're saying that they're going to have a winning year. So what makes you think that based on all the hype that's come around her? What makes you think that they're going to have a great year?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Our players they don't quit. They have grit and they have perseverance. And I'm not saying we're going to go out and win the super bowl, but I see us hosting our first home playoff game at Ford field ever, which is a big reason that season tickets sold out. People want to be there to see them finally win. I mean it's something that people just crave. We've been waiting forever. the last time they won the Super Bowl, it wasn't even called the Super Bowl. And that was always a joke my dad made, was the last time they won was the year he was born. He always joked the next time they win would be the year he died, which didn't happen. But I have a photo of him, born in December of 1957. And then at Christmas of 1957, holding a championship Detroit Lions football in front of a Christmas tree.
Cliff Duvernois:So your dad even grew up in that environment.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Oh yeah, and it's just, we haven't had a playoff win since I was what? I'm probably not doing the math right, 13 maybe? A home one since, maybe I was 10? it's been forever. And just hosting a playoff game at Ford Field and winning the north, something we haven't done in years. beating the packers last year was our super bowl. But when we really start winning, this is going to be just fantastic. And that's just little by little. And then it just spirals from there. More players want to come. More free agents. But, like I said, everybody is pumped. And when you get that winning mentality going, it's hard to stop it.
Cliff Duvernois:You are so correct on that one. Megan, if somebody's listening to this interview, maybe they want to check out the Yooperman bar and Grill, or maybe they just want to follow your adventures online. What would be the best way for them to connect?
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Yooperman's Bar and Grill is on Facebook. I'm the one that does all the posting for it. So you'll see a few Lions things. But mostly our daily specials, things like that. just going to Yooperman's is like attending a Lions museum. We have the Super Bowl tickets he won up on the wall. We've got photos. We've got news articles. All sorts of great stuff.
Cliff Duvernois:Megan, thank you once again for being on the show today and sharing your story. I really do appreciate it.
Megan Stefanski, Yoopergirl:Thank you.
Cliff Duvernois:And for our audience, you can always roll on over to TotalMichigan. com, click on Megan's interview and get the link that she mentioned above. We'll see you next week when we talk to another ordinary Michigander doing some pretty extraordinary things. We'll see you then.
