Greater Grand Rapids has begun to make a name for itself for its dining scene, but before it was ranked as a Best Foodie City or crowned Beer City, there were institutions that paved the way for these esteemed designations.

Specialty drink stores: What are they, exactly? Unlike a typical party store, specialty drink stores offers customers a curated experience.

Unlike bartenders and servers, restaurant cooks tend to do all the work behind the scenes, where their incredible work can go unappreciated by guests.

At the end of 2022, Sip Coffee & Cocktails joined the Alger Heights neighborhood, right next to Urban Jonny’s Salon.

Times have changed, and there may be less late-night options than ever in West Michigan.

With several dining features, a second-story greenhouse, an expansive collection of groceries and over two dozen vendors specializing in various baked goods, beverages, seafood items and more, the now decade-old Grand Rapids Downtown Market has solidified itself as a popular, must-see attraction for local foodies and sustainable shoppers alike.

An old, slim-built former bank has been host to Grand Rapids’ most prolific and enthusiastic coffee drinkers for the past 19 years. It’s called The Bitter End Coffehouse, and it’s owned by a friendly couple named John and Karisa Sprite. 

Alyson and Mallory Caillaud-Jones, born to a Muskegon father and a French mother, spent their childhood summers in the south of France. The village of Roquebrun was not large, its population never straying much from the mid-hundreds. 

The oldest alcoholic beverage in the world has lasted millennia by being astoundingly versatile. Sweet, spiced, warm, chilled—mead can be whatever you want it to be.

“Handmade. Gourmet. Fast.” It’s a rare combination, but Noodlepig in Grand Rapids is making it happen.