White Horse Inn

Yesterday we met up with our son, Steve, daughter-in-law, Sharon, granddaughter, Brooke, and daughter, Lori, for 3:30 dinner reservations at the historic White Horse Inn in Metamora, MI - about 45 miles from where we live.  It was to celebrate Steve & Sharon's 33rd wedding anniversary [December 26th] and Steve's belated birthday dinner. 

I had been to the White Horse Inn somewhere between 2001-2006 with my girlfriend, Sandy, when we went to Lucy's tearoom on the 2nd floor of the inn.  Regrettably, neither of us took photos.  It was named after Lucy Hoard, the wife of Lorenzo Hoard, who bought the historic building in 1850. The Wilkins family - former owners - established the tearoom to honor her. Sadly it's no longer part of the restaurant.

Because I love history, I spent time today reading articles and watching YouTube videos about the inn and Metamora.  In 2025 the Village of Metamora had a population of 605 people.   The small, quaint, rural village was established in 1836.

The originl building that houses the inn turned resturant was built in 1848 as a general store. It was purchased in 1850 by Lorenzo Hoard and converted into a stage coach stop and inn called Hoard House.  In 1872 Michigan Central Railroad built its line through Metamora and Hoard received the franchise to feed and house overnight passengers on stage coaches or trains as well as stable horses.  It's also rumored that it was a stop on the underground railroad.

There were a few other owners from 1906 to 1923 and its name transitioned from Hoard House to White Horse Inn.  In 2012 the Inn abruptly closed its doors after years of wear, tear and neglect.  The current husband and wife team bought it and completely restored it and reopened it in November 2014.  It holds the title of Michigan's Oldest Restaurant and is said to be haunted by Mr. Hoard.

 ~ East High Street Entrance ~

Sharon made reservations for us to dine in one of the four igloos that are open November thru the first of March.  Each igloo accommodates 6-10 guests for a two hour time period.

The igloos are named and have a theme - ours was Narnia.  I've heard about the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis but have never read the books or watched the series, but I plan to now. To include tea in this post, I read that C.S. Lewis was a significant tea drinker. He viewed it as a simple yet profound comfort and often paired it with his reading and writing. He wrote the well-known quote: "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

We entered the igloo through a literal wardrobe - a nod to one of the books, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published book in the series.

There were at least three heaters in the igloo so it was warm and comfortable.  When we entered, the table was set for 10 but the server removed four of the place settings for our group. The centerpiece was Aslan the great lion [the good character in the Chronicles of Narnia] and Jadis, the white witch, the evil character.

~ Steve and Sharon ~

Jerry had cataract surgery on both of his eyes in December and doesn't need glasses now.  Dr. says he has 20-20 vision.  He looks a little different without glasses.

~ Lori and Brooke ~

The food was excellent.  Three of us ordered salmon, Steve got a steak, Sharon got roast beef and Brooke got a shrimp appetizer to share and a burger.  We all enjoyed what we ordered. Below is a picture of Lori's entree.  My sides were sweet potato fries and a green bean/broccoli medley.  I'm hungry just looking at the photo!

If you're a local reader, I highly recomment going to the White Horse Inn.  We hope to go back soon.