Biz Beat: August 2021

Openings, Closings and Other Local Business News

OPENED: 

Wise Men Distillery finally opened its second location in McKay Tower at 146 Monroe Center, right by Rosa Parks Circle. The new tasting room brings Wise Men’s many spirits and creative cocktails to downtown Grand Rapids. 

Tamales Mary is a long-beloved food truck, taqueria and tamale restaurant, now with a second location in Eastown at 1551 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids. There’s a number of unique tamale options, from spicy chicken to bell peppers & cheese, and even strawberry!

Creston has a new restaurant in the form of Café Mamo, a cute little spot at 1601 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids. The food menu is best described as ethical, local, delicious, American cuisine — all inspired by grandma’s garden. The wine menu is managed by a professional sommelier, so you know it’s the good stuff!

Archival Brewing joined the Beer City scene — hey, Belmont is close enough — on 6266 W. River Dr. NE. This puts it down the road from fellow breweries Bier Distillery and Elk Brewing, but more importantly, Archival focuses on historic-style brews, recreating historic fermented beverages. Check out their Sahti, Catharina Sour, New Zealand Pilsner and more!

Sparrows Coffee is bringing coffee and espresso drinks to the Creston/Cheshire Village neighborhood with its new location at 2225 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids. The café is connected to Kingma’s Market, so you can get a boost while you shop!

Gaby’s Gourmandise officially joined the Downtown Market (435 Ionia Ave. SW, Grand Rapids) after years working out of the incubator kitchen. Check it out for authentic, gourmet French food, including delectable sweets and savory handhelds. Squibb Coffee joined the Market as well, bringing their signature specialty beverages and gourmet toasts.

Little Space Studio opened at 111 S. Division Ave., Grand Rapids, offering a new coworker space with multimedia studios, conference rooms, digital workstations and more! Along with it comes Mortals Café, a coffee shop serving up Vietnamese phin coffee and offering discussions and resources surrounding death.

Aggregate 136 is a new artist-run gallery space exhibiting contemporary art, installation and design. You won’t be surprised to learn it’s open on 136 S. Division Ave., right down the street from Little Space.

CHANGES: 

20 Monroe Live has rebranded to GLC Live at 20 Monroe Live, thanks to a new sponsorship with Gun Lake Casino. Similarly, the famous Fifth Third Ballpark — where the Whitecaps play — is now LMCU Ballpark, reflecting West Michigan’s fervent loyalty to the local credit union.

CLOSED: 

Art Caribbean Fusion Cuisine sadly did not survive the pandemic, closing doors in June. The location at 55 Monroe Center was hard to maintain through the past year’s circumstances, but you can continue to support the owners with their food truck, El Caribe.

If you have closings, openings or other business news for REVUE, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..