OK. So a handful of popular businesses in downtown Grand Rapids recently closed up shop. Two Choppers deli. River City Books. And most recently the sleek Sierra Room restaurant.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that Center City's renaissance has stalled out. Sure some small businesses are struggling in these tough economic times. That's part of the up and down nature of private enterprise. And the bottomline is that downtown Grand Rapids - along with its small business entrepreneurs - is steadily rising upward.
More private investment, new business, and visitors are coming to the area than perhaps any other time in its history.
Consider the convention business. Last year, an average of 838 individuals attended one of the 98 conferences at the DeVos Place or Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, said Janet Korn, vice president of marketing for the
Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitors Bureau. That's more than 82,000 people a year, or some 1,500 every week.
More conferences occurred downtown than ever before and the events were larger due to the increased hosting capacity. All together, the convention business brought almost $30 million into the Grand Rapids economy from participants spending on food, facilities, and activities.
“There is a positive trend line that continues to increase with hosting,” Korn said.
Grand Rapids is attracting more conferences than ever before because, after years of investment, downtown now has the facilities to accomodate a wide variety of events. The expansive DeVos Place being the lead example.
But the convention business does more than generate direct dollars for downtown. It also helps smaller business succeed because it brings more people to the area and helps catalyze new growth and revitalization in the area.
The Dog Pit, a hot-dog shop, opened its current location on Monroe Center about six years ago after moving from a previous location on Ottawa Street. Since moving, business is better because of the growth of downtown and word of mouth advertisement, according to manager Nathan Lundy.
Overall downtown businesses are succeeding, he said, because of the extraordinary amount of investment in Center City and the fact that more and more people are now attracted to the area.
“The area is a lot friendlier,” said Lundy, who worked at E.C. Vagabond, another Monroe Center business that closed its doors a few years back, before taking a job at the Dog Pit. “[Downtown] used to be the place not to go.”
“Businesses seem to be sticking around more,” he said. “If (my old workplace) was here now, it would probably be doing just fine.”
The soon-to-open Grand Rapids Art Museum, as well as a rush of new condos, will drive even more residents and visitors into the area and further pump up the small business scene, he predicted.
“We’ll have no choice but to expand,” Lundy said. “We’ll have to do something at the rate that downtown is growing.”
To help with the business, The Dog Pit has done promotions through Huntington Bank such as dropping coupons at Grand Rapids Rampage football games, Lundy said. The Dog Pit has also catered events such as Rampage autographs sessions as a promotional tool.
Doug Bowman, owner of West Coast Coffee located at 55 Monroe Center, has had similar success with his store. Opened only two years this June, the coffee café has seen steady growth, Bowman said.
“I can’t complain,” Bowman said. “There are peaks and valleys, but any business is like that. We’ve had steady growth which is a trend I see continuing.”
Working downtown is ideal, Bowman said, because of the growth and revitalization of the central city.
“What they are doing, it is really on the right track, focusing on residential,” Bowman said. “There is a lot of stuff happening and people are going to come back.”
River City Books, located down the block from Bowman's cafe, recently went out of business. But Bowman said the closing does not affect his overall outlook on the future of downtown business. It is an evolution processes with some businesses working better than others, he said, noting that he saw individuals visiting the book store whenever he passed by or paid a visit.
“One event is not going to change anything or my outlook,” said Bowman, who points out that West Coast Coffee has seen a steady increase in business in its short operational period.
“It’s really taking off,” he said. “We’re getting the word out which is very uplifting and promising.”
Bowman plans on staying in the coffee café business for the long haul, he said. Citing the movie, “What about Bob?” Bowman said the business is all about “baby steps.”
“I am not sure what tomorrow will bring; let alone five to ten years,” he said. "But I see opporunity."
For the time being, at least, Bowman plans on only operating the one location despite the growth his store continues to experience. While numerous business owners are optimistic about the growth downtown, others express some skepticism.
Business at Little Bohemia in Grand Rapids has been slow the past few years. It was down through September but increased at the end of the year, owner Terrie Wierengn said.
The decrease in business can not be attributed to the location of the store, but rather retail in general, she said. She owns and operates three stores in downtown Grand Rapids, Saugatuck and Woodland Mall.
This is the first year that Wierengn's Woodland Mall location has remained open all year.
Wierengn has run clearance sales to help business, which she does not normally do and sales have increased in recent weeks, she said. At the same time, sales at the Saugatuck store have been down.
“It flip-flops; it’ll be good here and bad there,” Wierengn said.
She also has brought in her dog, Maja, to welcome customers as well as a cat to help increase sales, Wierengn said. The peaks and valleys in sales have more to do with the economy than the location of the store, Wierengn said.
At a recent meeting of the Downtown Alliance, the business owners expressed concern about the outlook for the future, said Manager Lauren Mullen. She attributes the decrease in business to individuals not wanting to come downtown because of the price of parking or safety. Parking can cost up to $1.50 per half hour and older individuals are concerned about the homeless that live in the area, she said.
“It’s pretty safe here despite the perception,” Mullen said.
Photographs:
"Maja" the dog welcomes customers at Little Bohemia
DeVos Place
The Dog Pit
Doug Bowman - owner of West Coast Coffee
"Maja" works the room at Little Bohemia
Photographs © Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved