KALAMAZOO, MI — It’s been 35 years since Lou Nisker laced up his skates for the Kalamazoo Wings, but the former center has never left the minds of local hockey fans.
The owner of Niskers Char-Grill & Slap Shot Hockey Bar, at 5051 West Main St., Nisker gives fans a place to come watch multiple games at once all season long. In addition to the action on the ice, the local restaurant’s burgers and poutine keep patrons coming back.
Related: Restaurant founder reopens Niskers location, saying he really missed the business
As the name suggests, Nisker char-grills all his burgers, but he does more than just heat them with a flame. If you peak around the corner into the kitchen, you’ll catch him grilling over open flame and lava rocks, “like you’d do in the backyard,” he said.
The Angus burgers are always fresh and never frozen, sliced to size on a special patty-sizing machine. And the buns — your choice of regular or whole wheat — are baked in-house daily, sometimes twice a day, he said. There are also gluten-free bun and wrap options, neither of which are made in house.
He won’t mention the name of the local butcher he gets his Angus beef from, as Nisker doesn’t want others following suit. The seasoning, also a secret, is his own. He will tell you; however, that he gets his organic beefalo from High Evergreen Beefalo Farm. Beefalo is a cross-breed of beef cattle and the American bison.
In addition to the beef, Nisker’s hockey-themed hangout offers ground turkey burgers, chicken sandwiches, black bean burgers and a Wild Alaskan Salmon Burger with a honey teriyaki glaze.
How you want to dress it up is up to you.
“In 1986, when I opened the store, originally in Portage, the concept was build your own, top it how you like it,” he said. “Over the years, the selection of toppings has expanded a bit.”
One can dress their burger up by choosing any of the traditional array of cheeses (including curds), jalapeño and banana peppers, pico de gallo, andouille sausage, caramelized onions, mushrooms, Bell’s Two Hearted Beer cheese, battered onion rings and more — or pick one of Lou’s 16 favorites. Among those favorites are a creamy olive burger, to the Motown Coney featuring your standard Coney fixings, the Texas hat trick with bacon, mushrooms, caramelized onions and cheddar and the Canuck, which has white cheddar and Canadian bacon.
Nisker said he’s seen some people load up one-pound burgers with everything from beer cheese to onion rings, jalapenos, bacon and mushrooms.
“I don’t know how they eat it,” he said.
For the truly hungry, or those who just want an appetizer, Nisker serves up some of the “best, true Canadian poutine around.”
“We typically have four or five different options and are constantly changing it up,” he said.
There’s the traditional poutine, which consists of curly fries, cheese curds and gravy, and there’s options such as the smothered blue poutine topped with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, curds and gravy. At present, there’s also the hogs nest — featuring house-made pulled pork, bacon and mesquite BBQ sauce.
A Toronto native, Nisker played in both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers farm systems, as well as in Europe, and was a center for the Kalamazoo Wings from 1984 to 1986 before opening his first restaurant on South Westnedge Avenue in Portage. He sold that restaurant in 2006, but after the person he sold it to closed down four years later, he bought it back. Then, two years later, Niskers moved into the Oshtemo Township space.
“Having grown up as a kid in Canada and playing professional hockey, the hockey thing just made sense,” Nisker said. “I’m really, truly thankful the community has just supported me all these years and that they care to come and support local businesses like mine.”
Niskers is located at the southwest corner of Drake Road and West Main Street at 5051 West Main, just a slap shot west of the city line in Oshtemo Township.
Around the turn of the century, Nisker also had eateries on the Kalamazoo Mall, at Campus Pointe near Western Michigan and in Battle Creek. Those have all long since closed down.
With the NHL preseason underway on Sept. 25 and regular season following Oct. 12, Nikser said guests can expect to see Red Wings and Blackhawks games on the television, as well as his own hometown Maple Leafs. The bar does carry the NHL Center Ice package, so he’s happy to put on just about any game, Nisker said.
Hours are subject to change. But, at present, the kitchen is closed Monday. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Also on MLive:
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Cooking with heart at Lolita’s Tacos in Kalamazoo
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Bone Yard Cafe serves up ‘a little Texas, a little Kalamazoo’ in its BBQ
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Monster Shakes and Taco Sundaes keep things cool year-round in Kalamazoo
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