Lake View Motel & Gift Shop - Lakeview Kitchette

In August of 1985, Nancy and Keith Willis made a life changing decision – to leave their home in southern Ohio and buy the Lake View Motel & Gift Shop in Lake City, Michigan. It was an abrupt change, but one that had been brewing for years.


As a family, we would come to Lake City to hunt mushrooms – a passion that even then spanned generations – often staying at the Lake View Motel. It was the woods of northern Michigan that captured our hearts. The woods that gifted to us the great morel mushroom.


The Lake View Motel had its allure – beautiful Lake Missaukee, proximity to hundreds of acres of morel-producing state land, and an established business. During our visits, Mom and Dad mentioned to the owners that if they wanted to sell, they were interested. One day that call came. Dad drove north to negotiate the deal. The next day he called Mom and said, "Pack your things, Nancy, we are moving to Michigan!". And they did.


Over the next 35 years, the motel became our family meeting grounds which by chance or by purpose housed the entire Willis tribe. Mom loved having her family close. Now generations of Willis’ have grown up here, with another generation on the way – much like many of our guests and their families.


Regrettably, we have suffered the loss of both Mom (2009) and Dad (2020). We hold in our hearts all those years with them, at the Lake View Motel – spending time together fishing the clear waters of Lake Missaukee, hunting for morels in the beautiful hardwood forests, and enjoying stunning sunsets from the water’s edge.


We look forward to many more years here, as a family. We hope to honor Mom and Dad’s legacy by providing the same level of hospitality they provided to their guests over the last 35 years. We are blessed with the opportunity to welcome back those who have shared their lives with the Willis family and look forward to welcoming many more guests who will call this little slice of heaven their home.