Creston Neighborhood

[RegalTDP]

1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

Throw Back Monday - 1747 Plainfield NE.   Built in 1958, and expanded in 1963, Daane's ran this location till Dave Daane and Sy VanderKooy leased the space to Damico Foods in the 1970s.   It's now the home of Little Lucy's Cafe.  The building and Cafe are owned by the Vander Kooy family. 

On another note, Danne's also purchased and ran a former A&P store at the Leonard/Fuller Plaza till the 1980s, when Sy VanderKooy bought Danne's out, opening Sy's Market.   Sy's sold to Family Fare, which still runs that location today.   

IIRC Sy's split off from Daane's, because Sy only took over a couple of Daane's stores.  I remember when the 44th/Breton Daane's converted to a Sy's (now Horrocks), and newer Daane's on 60th/Kalamazoo was still in business a few more years, along with the one in Cascade.  I think the two companies sold to Spartan (ie Family Fare) at different times too.

Never had the pleasure of meeting Sy, but seeing Dave Daane working on the floor was a frequent occurrence - I was a kid, but I knew who he was.  Dave Daane was a big dude, always had his sleeves up.  Pushed carts around, bagged groceries, did work you'd normally see baggers doing.  Big personality, always said Hi to EVERYONE.  He was  a great guy.

Edited April 15, 2019 by RegalTDP

[Raildude's dad]

I'm old enough to remember the original Daanes which was torn down and the lower portion of today's building was built.  It was expanded later with the 2 story portion.  I'm pretty sure the warehouse was on the 2nd floor after the addiction. Dave is the son of the original owner. Sy was a son-in-law. Dave nd Sy agreed to part ways thus Daanes and Sy's . My folks and later my mom traded at Leonard and Fuller. I had 2 cousins that worked for Sy until they reached retirement age. Sy was always hands on also. White apron and the paper butcher hat

[mpchicago]

12 hours ago, Raildude's dad said:

I'm old enough to remember the original Daanes which was torn down and the lower portion of today's building was built.  It was expanded later with the 2 story portion.  I'm pretty sure the warehouse was on the 2nd floor after the addiction. Dave is the son of the original owner. Sy was a son-in-law. Dave nd Sy agreed to part ways thus Daanes and Sy's . My folks and later my mom traded at Leonard and Fuller. I had 2 cousins that worked for Sy until they reached retirement age. Sy was always hands on also. White apron and the paper butcher hat

I was a bagger and then stockboy at Sy's  Leonard/Fuller during my high school years in the late 80's.   Sy paid his employees well, and there was profit sharing for full-time employees.  It was said that at one point in time the store had the highest gross sales per square foot in the state.  Not sure if that was true, but that place was always busy.  On my last day of work before I took a job at a summer camp, the manager got pissed off and asked me to leave in the middle of my shift because I was in the parking lot while on the clock talking to my girlfriend.      

[Raildude's dad]

You might remember my mother . Older lady, every week walked to the beauty shop next door about 1pm, had her hair done, then went to Sy's, putzed around  shopping, then called my sister to come pick her up for a ride home (gray Mercury Voyager IIRC) with the groceries. Stood outside if it was nice weather, inside if it was bad weather. Every Thursday, rain or shine. My cousins were Joy and Carol on the cash registers.

[Winston1206]

Gaia/DAAC finally closed on their new location in Plainfield. Hopefully see some movement there soon. 

 

[ctpgr34]

On 3/4/2019 at 4:35 PM, EastownLeo said:

Looks like the old Red Ball Jet location might be getting some new life.

A co-worker said he recently saw lights and possible work happening in the space. 

Also early Feb. it was sold to 1431 PLAINFIELD LLC for $540,000.   Anyone have info?

I have heard this will be Quimby House.  I can only find that it is listed as such further down in a Google search and there is a landing page here- www.quimbyhousegr.com

 

 

[EastownLeo]

1 hour ago, ctpgr34 said:

I have heard this will be Quimby House.  I can only find that it is listed as such further down in a Google search and there is a landing page here- www.quimbyhousegr.com

 

 

Seeing this,  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g42256-d16735495-Reviews-Quimby_House-Grand_Rapids_Kent_County_Michigan.html

[ctpgr34]

On 3/12/2019 at 1:22 PM, ctpgr34 said:

Updated, I like the top windows, they match the church

Looks like it is close to completion

[joeDowntown]

I think they did a nice job on this project.

There's a building a few blocks down at 537 Knapp that could get the same treatment. Oversized parking lot, under-utilized building. And a weird addition that could be bulldozed and reused. 

Joe

[Winston1206]

River North Public House (fka Citizen) has an opening date. 

 

[thebeerqueer]

14 hours ago, Winston1206 said:

River North Public House (fka Citizen) has an opening date. 

 

Seems like an early opening date with no menu posted, no photos of food and a post for hiring staff on the 14th of this month. Hopefully it's not a disaster but all signs point to YES. 

[GRDadof3]

6 hours ago, thebeerqueer said:

Seems like an early opening date with no menu posted, no photos of food and a post for hiring staff on the 14th of this month. Hopefully it's not a disaster but all signs point to YES. 

Oof. Still looking for staff a week before opening? 

[ctpgr34]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:50 PM, EastownLeo said:

Seeing this,  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g42256-d16735495-Reviews-Quimby_House-Grand_Rapids_Kent_County_Michigan.html

Actually will be called Mad Grub (not a fan of the name) opening later this summer- madgrub.com (not much info on the site yet)

 

[Winston1206]

Interesting write up about the failed 616 development:

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/creston-neighborhood-hopes-for-renewed-investment-despite-stalled-developments?sfns=mo

[arcturus]

Sad to see this happening.

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/grpd-creston-market-broken-into-5-times-in-a-month/

[thebeerqueer]

On 7/15/2019 at 8:37 AM, ctpgr34 said:

Actually will be called Mad Grub (not a fan of the name) opening later this summer- madgrub.com (not much info on the site yet)

 

Does anyone have the word on when this place is set to open? Their website and social are pretty much a 'Coming Soon' placeholder. 

[sudoclam]

On 9/9/2019 at 4:47 PM, arcturus said:

Sad to see this happening.

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/grpd-creston-market-broken-into-5-times-in-a-month/

Well, it finally happened. Creston Market store is putting up security fencing around the windows. Sad. I don't blame them.

Though it makes Plainfield look like a terrible area.

Edited September 30, 2019 by sudoclam

[arcturus]

1 hour ago, sudoclam said:

Well, it finally happened. Creston Market store is putting up security fencing around the windows. Sad. I don't blame them.

Though it makes Plainfield look like a terrible area.

Insurance company probably said enough is enough.

More info on the burglaries in true Reddit form - https://old.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/d9eji7/grpd_seeks_creston_market_burglars/

 

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, arcturus said:

Insurance company probably said enough is enough.

More info on the burglaries in true Reddit form - https://old.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/d9eji7/grpd_seeks_creston_market_burglars/

 

Wouldn’t a few strategically placed, high res cameras catch the culprits? I’m sure neighboring buildings would have lent a hand to get eyes on the area. 

I think Creston market is a pretty nice looking business. Bummer to see security fences go up but I also can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the owners. 

Joe

[GR_Urbanist]

13 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Wouldn’t a few strategically placed, high res cameras catch the culprits? I’m sure neighboring buildings would have lent a hand to get eyes on the area.

From what I've learned from TV, any old webcam can get HD images of people. All you need is for the "zoom-in and enhance" function to be enabled.

[ModSquad]

3 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

From what I've learned from TV, any old webcam can get HD images of people. All you need is for the "zoom-in and enhance" function to be enabled.

On my building on Madison I had an urban clothing shop renting from me for a while.  I was committed to not have security bars.  After 6 smash and grabs at 3 AM, I gave in and bought swinging gates.  During the day you couldn't see them, but when they closed, the owner would swing the gates shut.  I think it can be done inconspicuously, but it is a necessity.

[grandrollerz]

Slightly offtopic, but Stonesthrow in Creston Neighborhood is having their 15th anniversary sale (last day of the sale is today). 20% one item. Great way to support local and get a great deal.

 

I plan on ordering a Luonto sectional sleeper and then waiting 3-4 months for it come from Finland, LOL. Cool stuff. https://www.luontofurniture.com/products?catalog=9 - sofa sleeper technology has come a long way from grandmas couch.

 

Sent from my Acer Chromebook R11 (CB5-132T, C738T) using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[draftpeppin]

7 hours ago, grandrollerz said:

Slightly offtopic, but Stonesthrow in Creston Neighborhood is having their 15th anniversary sale (last day of the sale is today). 20% one item. Great way to support local and get a great deal.

 

I plan on ordering a Luonto sectional sleeper and then waiting 3-4 months for it come from Finland, LOL. Cool stuff. https://www.luontofurniture.com/products?catalog=9 - sofa sleeper technology has come a long way from grandmas couch.

 

Sent from my Acer Chromebook R11 (CB5-132T, C738T) using Tapatalk

 

 

 

That's about a half mile from my house, and we recently bought a sectional there.  My wife loves the place.

[ctpgr34]

701 Knapp ST NE (block east of Plainfield) is sale pending and I heard a rumor that the owners of Sovengard bought it.  Not sure what for, but parking is definitely a negative for this property.  It'll be interesting to see what comes of it.

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by ctpgr34

[mpchicago]

2 hours ago, ctpgr34 said:

701 Knapp ST NE (block east of Plainfield) is sale pending and I heard a rumor that the owners of Sovengard bought it.  Not sure what for, but parking is definitely a negative for this property.  It'll be interesting to see what comes of it.

 

Just to have someone come in and clean up the place would be a plus.   I can't imagine that they would run any kind of restaurant out of that space, but an update similar to Creston market  would be nice.

Edited November 18, 2019 by mpchicago