Norm Loved Cheers, But George Wendt’s Favorite Bar Was in West Michigan

Shelby — America’s most beloved beer-drinking barfly, Norm Peterson, might have spent most of his time on the corner stool at Cheers in Boston, but in real life, his favorite bar was a charming hole-in-the-wall in West Michigan.

George Wendt, the Chicago native who played Norm on the NBC sitcom “Cheers,” spent his summers in Michigan’s Oceana County, where his wife’s family had owned a cottage since the early 1960s.

Wendt and his wife, Bernadette Birkett, eventually bought their own place in Stony Lake (near Shelby), and he became a regular at the Stony Lake Bar (now the Stony Lake Inn), a local joint famed for its steak and pork chops.

“Oh, yes, he used to come in here all the time,” a bartender at the Stony Lake Inn told me last week. “We have his picture on the wall.”

Indeed, as soon as you walk through the door, just look to the right and you’ll see a photo of Wendt with five very happy women, with the caption “Tenth Annual Girls Weekend” on it. The bartender wasn’t sure when the photo was taken at the Stony Lake Inn, but it appears to be circa 2001 or 2002.

Wendt passed away last year at the age of 76, and the news hit especially hard among the locals at the Stony Lake Inn. The hometown Oceana County Press did a story on his passing that featured a photo of him wearing a “Stony Lake Bar” T-shirt.

He wore the shirt during a performance with the Second City comedy troupe, where he performed in the 1970s and early 1980s before landing the role of Norm on “Cheers.” He met his wife, Bernadette, during his Second City days. She was also a member.

Wendt grew up in Chicago and hit it big when “Cheers” debuted in 1982. He appeared in all 275 episodes of the show and earned six Emmy nominations. He had a short-lived show of his own after that (called “The George Wendt Show”), appeared in numerous other movies and TV shows, and had a memorable run as one of the Chicago Bears “Super Fans” on “Saturday Night Live.”

But his legacy was playing Norm. Considering that Wendt achieved his greatest fame playing a lovable barfly, it’s cool to know that in real life, his favorite bar was in Michigan.

It’s also interesting to note that “Cheers” had plenty of other connections to our state. Jackie Swanson, who played Woody’s girlfriend (and later wife) Kelly in the last five seasons of the hit show, was a 1981 graduate of Cadillac High School, where she was a cheerleader. And three Detroit Tigers heroes from 1968—Norm Cash, Bill Freehan and Al Kaline—got a shoutout in the very first episode of “Cheers.”

Like Wendt, I’ve also spent a lot of time at the Stony Lake Inn. I’ve been coming here since the 1980s with some high school buddies, and we golf every year at the nearby Benona Shores Golf Course. Unfortunately, we never ran into Norm.

The whole area is extremely popular in the summer months, especially the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, just north of Stony Lake. There are some decent restaurants in nearby Hart and Shelby, but truth be told, the Stony Lake Inn might be the best place of all to grab a bite. The bar is packed every weekend, and I highly recommend the pork chops.

It’s as modest as place as you can imagine, with a couple TVs showing sports, beer posters on the wall, and a couple trophy fish hanging above the bar. There’s one of those grabby-hand vending machines where the kids can try and win a stuffed animal. If you’re looking for fancy tablecloths or upscale entrees, though, this ain’t your place.

The story in the Oceana County Press noted that the summer home that George Wendt and Bernadette Birkett owned was in the Cobmoosa Shores neighborhood of Stony Lake, which is right across the road from Benona Shores.

While there’s no record of whether Bernadette (who survived her husband) still spends her summers in the area, the story in the newspaper did say that her brother owns and operates the Stony Lake Cutlery, a knife-sharpening business on the lake.

So if you’re a fan of “Cheers” and want to hang out at the same bar that Norm did—or if you just want some kick-ass pork chops—head on out to the Stony Lake Inn.