As co-owner of Copper Range Depot Family Restaurant and Roy’s Pasties & Bakery in Houghton, Trisia has proven her vision is better than 20/20.

Equipped with a can-do attitude and a what-it-could-be conviction, this Michigan Tech-trained accountant orchestrated Roy’s move to its current location and spearheaded the Copper Range Depot restoration project.

When Trisia’s husband died unexpectedly in 2009, the loss redefined her as she resigned from her job in research accounting to become a stay-at-home mom. Months later, an encounter between strangers at an eighth-grade basketball game took her life in another direction when widower Roy Narhi rejected Trisia’s stock response of “we’re getting through it,” when asked how she was doing.

This newly launched partnership between product-focused Roy and numbers-focused Trisia inspired growth and improvement at Roy’s Bakery at its then-Sharon Avenue shopping plaza location. The professional relationship quickly transitioned as Roy and Trisia realized they make a “great team.” They married in December 2013, just months after Roy’s grand opening in its modern, expanded Lakeshore Drive location.

Candace Wolf/Daily Mining Gazette A shared sign reveals the close proximity of Copper Range Depot Family Restaurant and Roy's Pasties & Bakery to the Portage Lake lift bridge.

From Roy’s, Trisia spent several years watching the neighboring building crumble until she sought out its blueprints, and that was when her exceptional vision kicked in. Visualizing a booth at every window in a space filled with Copper Range Railroad history and memorabilia was just the beginning of her new venture.

“I do better with way too much to do,” Trisia says while describing her motivation to embark on ownership of a second restaurant.

With help and support from Michigan Economic Development funding, the city of Houghton and others, Trisia began restoration of the 1899 structure. The project was slowed by $30,000 in demolition costs, weighty structural repairs and a global pandemic.

Attributed to her persistence, the doors of her “beloved depot,” as Trisia describes it in a letter on the front of the restaurant’s menu, opened for business in 2021. In addition to the family restaurant, the building houses temporary and long-term residential rental options on its second and third floors.

“I got this” is her personal mantra, which has served her well in other aspects of her life. In 2011, she was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis after waking up one day to unable to walk. Trisia contradicted assertions of medical professionals that life as she knew it was over and she wouldn’t walk again.

Candace Wolf/Daily Mining Gazette The building that now houses Copper Range Depot Family Restaurant was built in 1899 as the passenger depot for Copper Range Railroad.

“I’ve got stuff to do. I’m too busy to be faced with obstacles,” Trisia says, who is often referred to as “Boss Lady” as a term of endearment by her restaurants’ 52 employees. Respect, value and community are intrinsic standards in the employee-employer relationships that Trisia fosters.

A mother, stepmother and grandmother, Trisia has devoted time to many local organizations, such as BHK Child Development, Rotary International and Calumet Theatre. For 13 years, she has served on the board, as a committee chair and as an officer for Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, a nonprofit whose mission especially aligns with her own.

Trisia’s vision extends beyond buildings and business; it also encompasses community and hospitality. Affectionately called “Gram Cracker” by one of her 10 grandchildren, she says she has no need to prove herself, instead she just wants to “love and enjoy people for who they are.”

And what an ideal way to employ her remarkable vision – both personally and professionally.

Candace Wolf/Daily Mining Gazette Trisia Narhi poses among items of historic railroad memorabilia at the Copper Range Depot Family Restaurant in Houghton.