The Bomber Has Been Feeding Ypsilanti Since Before the Bombers Flew

The Bomber opened in 1936, five years before the nearby Willow Run Bomber Plant started assembling B-24 Liberators for the war effort.^{1Opening date per the restaurant's own history and local Ypsilanti records. The Willow Run Bomber Plant began production in 1941.} The diner took its name from the plant that would come to define Ypsilanti's wartime identity, and the WWII aviation theme has held ever since. Model planes hang from the ceiling. Military memorabilia lines the walls. The menu is laminated and heavy.

None of that matters if the food is bad. The food is not bad.

The Breakfast

Cap'N Crunch French Toast is the dish that put The Bomber on the map. Thick bread dipped in batter, coated in crushed Cap'N Crunch cereal, and griddled until the cereal crust goes golden and crunchy. Food Network featured it, and the attention was deserved.^{2Food Network's feature on Cap'N Crunch French Toast per the restaurant and coverage referenced in local dining guides.} The sweetness is aggressive. The texture, that crunch against soft bread, is what keeps people ordering it. A plate runs around $12 with two eggs and a side.

Beyond the headline item, the breakfast menu is deep. Biscuits and gravy. Omelets stuffed past the point of structural integrity. Pancakes the size of the plate. The Bomber Skillet layers hash browns, eggs, cheese, and your choice of meat in a cast-iron pan. Prices on most breakfast plates fall between $9 and $14, and the portions are built to last.^{3Pricing approximate as of fall 2025, based on menu observation.}

I order the Bomber Skillet when I come in for breakfast, and the hash browns are consistently crisp on the bottom, which sounds like a small thing until you eat at enough diners where they are not.

The Room

The dining room is long and narrow, with booths along the windows and a counter near the kitchen. Laminated menus double as placemats. Waitstaff call you "hon" without irony. Coffee shows up before you ask for it. This is diner service in the Midwestern sense: fast, familiar, and not interested in upselling you on anything.

Johanna McCoy and the late John Sebestyen bought The Bomber in 1986 and restored its aviation heritage theme. McCoy continues the tradition today.^{4Ownership history per the Ypsilanti dining guide and restaurant's own account.} The care shows in the details: the memorabilia is curated (not kitschy), the booths are maintained, and the kitchen runs at a pace that keeps tables turning without rushing anyone out.

Michigan Avenue

The Bomber sits on a stretch of Michigan Avenue that is having its own moment. Ma Lou's Fried Chicken is a few blocks west. Encuentro Latino is down the road. Bill's Drive-In is less than a mile east. The corridor has more character per block than most restaurant strips in Washtenaw County, and The Bomber anchors the breakfast end of it.

Ninety years is a long time for any business. For a diner on a road that has seen every economic cycle Michigan can produce, it is a statement. The Bomber does not try to be anything other than a diner. Laminated menus. Generous portions. Breakfast that fortifies you for the rest of the day. The cereal on the French toast is absurd. The fact that it works is not.

The Bomber is at 306 E Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti. Open daily for breakfast and lunch. Cash and card accepted.