Pattis 1880s Settlement Information

In 1975, Bill and Patti Tullar stopped in Grand Rivers and fell in love with the little town and shared a love for the Land Between the Lakes area and purchased the Grand Rivers Motel. In 1977, Bill, Patti, Chip and Michael Lee, started Hamburger Patti’s Ice Cream Parlor. The restaurant was a block building that was part of the 6-unit motel. The motel units quickly gave way to becoming dining rooms. The upstairs room and lavatory (with our treasured cast-iron, footed bathtub and Indian Joe) was the Tullar’s personal living room and bath. Patti’s 1880’s Restaurant was on it’s way. Bill soon got tired of being called Mr. Patti, so the boys built him a restaurant of his own in 1990. Mr. Bill’s was designed with added entertainment to accomodate bus tours. Bill's had Honky Tonk piano players and the hostess and servers were dressed in period costumes. Through growth and success Mr. Bill's became more dining rooms for Patti's 1880's Settlement. Today Mr. Bill’s has the same food, same servers – everything is the same except for the room size. Great food and great presentation at great prices is Patti’s claim to success, but as Chip (the oldest), always said, “There has to be more to create a truly memorable impression.” Patti's has always been a family kind of place. We welcome the little ones and planned for their entertainment by adding a small animal walk through park, 18 hole miniature golf, a playground, mining and remote control boats. Today, our two restaurants serve over 350,000 people each year, in our little town of 350 people. People come from many states for our great food, beautiful gardens and Patti's great southern hospitality. Our log cabin settlement offers a wide variety of shopping with names such as Brighton, Fontanini, Spartina, Anju, Lizzy James and Music of the Spheres Chimes. A fabulous place to work!