Dan and Liz Paoli have taken over from Michael Christy, who had owned it for 11 years.

“Mike came to us three years ago, and asked us if we’d be interested,” said Liz, who has worked there since 2019. “At that time, we thought it’s not the right time because our kids were still young. Then he came to us a little over a year ago and said ‘I’m selling it and it’s either you guys or I’m selling it outside.’ We didn’t want to lose Spiro’s.”

“We’d always talked about having something of our own, either a breakfast place or a restaurant of some sort. So it was always something that was on the back of our mind. The opportunity arose and she was familiar by working here anyway,” Dan said.

“We sat them all down and we said if we’re going to do this it has to be a team decision and they were all for it. They’ll be here as well, helping out,” Liz said.

Spiro's Restaurant in downtown Iron Mountain is open Monday through Friday and is now owned by Dan and Liz Paoli. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News)

Eighteen-year-old son Mason has worked at the restaurant since June, Maddox is 13 and Gabby 10.

Dan and Liz plan to step back from some of their coaching duties to make things a little less hectic and he will continue to work at Billerud mill in Quinnesec for now.

Christy is staying on for a little while to help make the transition go more smoothly and Liz is learning more about the operations so she can be useful at all stages.

“Our whole crew stayed with us, so we didn’t lose anyone in the process,” Liz said. They have about 13 employees and very little turnover.

They’ve received a lot of support from the community and many are curious to see if they will be changing things. Right now, they are keeping things pretty much the same but are open to new ideas and may make some small changes in the future.

The interior of Spiro's Restaurant in downtown Iron Mountain. The restaurant offers some outside seating during summer months. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News)

“My daughter, Gabby, stopped going to the grocery store with me because everyone is stopping and asking if we’re going to change anything,” she laughed.

They are known for their freshly prepared food with are variety of options, including appetizers, burgers, salads, wraps and dinner entrees.

A lot of their business is takeout, but in the summer they offer outside seating that doubles their capacity.

For now they plan to keep the hours the same. They are open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’ve had so many people say, ‘Why aren’t you open on Saturday?'” Dan said.

“It’s a family-style restaurant and we want our Spiro’s family to be able to enjoy their weekends,” Liz said.

Spiro’s is at 427 S. Stephenson Ave. and can be reached at 906-774-3499, by email at spirosironmountain@gmail.com or on Facebook.

Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.