The next time you stop by the Clarkston Union, don’t be alarmed if you see a group of eight laughing individuals adorned in yellow badges, sipping their favorite brew and devouring bowls of the restaurant’s famous macaroni and cheese.
It’s just the Mac and Cheese Club.
For the past three years, this group of four couples and Deerwood Subdivision residents have spent the first Monday of every month, during the mac and cheese season, enjoying their favorite comfort food at one of their favorite local eateries.
‘We started talking about mac and cheese at the Union and came to find out we all had a certain yearning for it so we decided to check it out,? Donella Vogel said.
Vogel serves as the group’s unofficial ‘president? and creator of the infamous yellow badges the group members wear at every meeting.
On Mac and Cheese Mondays, group members meet at the hosting couple’s house for pre-mac cocktails. As dinner time approaches, the group loads into the ‘Mac and Cheese Mobile,? a large station owned and driven by member Bob DeCelle.
‘We can only fit eight people in the car, so it’s a very exclusive group,? Vogel said.
The group meets the first Monday of the month from June to October since many of the members spend the winter months in Florida. The group remains true to their Clarkston mac and cheese while out of the area.
‘There’s never anything else like it where ever we go,? Vogel said.
While at the Union, group members sip their favorite drinks and catch up while eagerly awaiting the arrival of their half orders of the restaurant specialty.
‘They usually know we’re coming,? Vogel said.
Popular choices include wine, Bud Light and a tall pint of Guinness.
‘Anything, actually,? DeCelle said.
What happens to a group member if he doesn’t want mac and cheese?
‘We’ve been ignored, we’ve been embarrassed and we’ve been humiliated,? Bob Sutton joked.
‘We get shunned when we don’t order it,? Jan Sutton said.
The teasing is all in good fun, of course.
When all the mac and cheese has been consumed, the group heads back to the host’s house for coffee and celebratory snacks in honor of birthdays within the friends.
Sometimes the best part about the mac and cheese is its convenience.
‘We don’t have to cook it at home,? Jan said.
The group members wouldn’t dare look for a mac and cheese substitute anywhere else.
‘I think this restaurant (Union) is one of the best things to ever happen to Clarkston,? Vogel said.
After three years of monthly mac and cheese, just how much of the comfort food have the group members consumed?
‘We’re just under a ton,? DeCelle said.