Roosevelt Park

[GRGridGirl]

Has anyone been to the new Cafe Aromas at 880 Grandville Ave SW? It's south of Franklin in the Rumsey Building.

[joeDowntown]

I saw it yesterday. It looks fantastic and extremely out of place!

Joe

[Coleco]

Great looking place. Good coffee. Very friendly owners.

[Coleco]

Great looking place. Good coffee. Very friendly owners.

[GRDadof3]

There was a great article back in August about the young couple who renovated the Rumsey:

http://www.grbj.com/GRBJ/Nav/Login.htm?Art...5-1DBEB5E9EE5E}

Here's a great quote:

"Since the building had essentially been vacant for three decades, clearing the basement was a filthy, laborious task. The storm drains would overflow, Valdes said, filling the basement with a slurry of decomposed wood, loose debris and other foul-smelling substances. Because an exterior entry to the basement had also been filled with years

[Prankster]

It never ceases to amaze me what they can do with a dilapidated building like this if you get the right people involved. Some of the buildings along Ionia Ave were absolute junk, and now they are some of the nicest properties in town.

[GRGridGirl]

Areas like Roosevelt Park remind me of Chicago neighborhoods like Bucktown. Great old buildings, beautiful housing stock, incredible views of Downtown, and ethnic pockets. Bucktown, five years ago is nothing like what it is today. I have five sisters and since I was in high school, I've always had at least two sisters living in Chicago.

Oh.... my aching heart, soo many central areas in GR are just waiting, saying "hello, I'm ready to be fixed up." Though, I recently was in Detroit speaking at a conference and I stayed over night at the Hotel Pontchartrain. At 6pm I was walking around and I saw maybe six people on the street and the beautiful buildings were crying.

Once a week, most of my office goes out for lunch and currently we are on our "Latin Tour". I suggest trying out Cancun Restaurant at 1518 Grandville Ave SW.

Go, Go Grandville Avenue!

[GRGridGirl]

Cafe Aromas had a nice article on the cover of today's Grand Rapids Business Journal.