Mariel is a dedicated restaurateur living in Bear Jaw Lake, Minnesota. Having recently inherited her grandparents' supper club, she feels overwhelmed by the new responsibilities while facing struggles with infertility. She is fiercely protective of the restaurant's legacy and maintains a tense, estranged relationship with her mother.

Florence spends her childhood constantly on the move until her mother secures work at the Lakeside Supper Club. As a young girl, she yearns for stability, education, and independence, actively avoiding the restaurant industry. As an adult, she becomes a highly protective mother whose stubborn nature creates friction within her family.

Ned is the optimistic heir to the Jorby's restaurant empire. He struggles to align his father's aggressive corporate expansion plans with his own preference for wholesome, community-oriented business practices. Prone to romanticizing his life, he falls quickly in love with Mariel and strives to build a peaceful family life in Bear Jaw.

Julia is the quiet, nature-loving daughter of Mariel and Ned. Growing up primarily under the care of her father and grandmother, she forms a complex relationship with the Lakeside Supper Club that dominates her family's attention. She prefers solitary walks in the Minnesota woods to the bustling atmosphere of the restaurant.

Betty is an endlessly optimistic and highly pragmatic single mother facing poverty during the Great Depression. She utilizes her relentless cheerfulness and resourcefulness to secure a bartending job and eventual stability at the Lakeside Supper Club. She proves to be a savvy businesswoman who shapes the restaurant's long-term success.

Floyd is the generous owner of the Lakeside Supper Club in Bear Jaw. He provides Betty and Florence with employment and a permanent home, acting as a stable provider. He maintains a quiet, private life outside the restaurant, deeply valuing his close companionships.

Brenda is an unapologetic, pragmatic resident of Bear Jaw who lives on a farm with her son. Ostracized by many locals due to her past affairs, she handles the town's judgment with indifference. She forms a fast, honest friendship with Mariel over shared drinks and blunt conversation.

Kyle is Brenda's Korean-adopted son. Growing up in the overwhelmingly white town of Bear Jaw, he develops a sharp, perceptive nature. He lives across the street from the local church, giving him a front-row seat to town gossip and neighborhood disputes.

Archie is a handsome, intense man living in Bear Jaw. He maintains a highly private life, filling his home with hunting trophies rather than personal photographs. He forms an unexpected connection with young Florence, offering her a safe harbor and teaching her card games.

Carla is Ned's frugal and highly competent sister. Despite her family's wealth, she drives a secondhand car and approaches business with unsentimental strategy. She proves highly effective at running branches of the Jorby's empire, viewing corporate growth purely through a practical lens.

Edward is the demanding patriarch of the Prager family and the driving force behind the massive franchising of Jorby's. He expects his children to prioritize the family business above all else, enforcing a traditional corporate culture.

Al is a dedicated, lifelong employee of the Lakeside Supper Club. He treats his coworkers with respect and envisions a traditional future rooted in Bear Jaw, hoping for a large family and steady work at the restaurant he loves.

Peg is Edward's wife and a former Jorby's server. She sometimes acts patronizing toward service workers but harbors unfulfilled dreams of pediatric nursing, making her eager to help with her stepchildren's expanding families.

Gustav is a cheerful teaching student who eventually marries Florence. He possesses a strong desire for fatherhood and embraces family life with enthusiasm, contrasting with his wife's anxieties.

Hazel is an elderly regular at the Lakeside Supper Club and a longtime resident of Bear Jaw. She functions as a primary source of town gossip, eagerly tracking the community's interpersonal dramas and reporting them to her neighbors.

Gustav Prager is the infant son of Mariel and Ned. His birth brings joy to the extended family and sparks a gentle rivalry between his grandparents over his eventual future.

Felix is a talented chef who originally moved from Mexico to Bear Jaw seeking work at a lodge. After it closed, he worked his way up through the Lakeside's kitchen ranks, becoming a reliable and highly skilled presence in the restaurant.

Mina is Julia's teenage best friend. She views working at the supper club simply as a job rather than a legacy, eventually drifting into the broader social circles of Bear Jaw high school life.