RegalTDP

They shouldn't have moved!

If this forum's yearly predictions thread were a gambling site I'd already be broke so maybe not a great idea

Meijer is definitely keeping other stores out... It's just so dominant. By my count there's 12 stores in Kent County alone, plus 2 in Jenison & Hudsonville... That's an insane level of saturation for a single metro area. I've never heard of anyone pining for more Walmarts and Targets (LOL) but I think it's what kept out the higher-end stores too. In Rochester, NY it was a similar story - I remember hearing about Whole Foods entering their market really late too, since Wegmans is so dominant there. All of those chains you mentioned are sit-down restaurants, and those are trending down everywhere; that's not a GR problem. I don't even know where the nearest Chili's or Ruby Tuesday is in LA anymore. Local restaurants have taken over for dine-in eating. In fact, similar to how we used to complain about the national chains, a lot of local places are starting to copy each other and their menus are getting generic... I've eaten at lots of "taverns" with the same messy pub burger, truffle fries and bacon mac & cheese... At least that's how it is in LA. Same in GR? Fast casual is where it's at for national chains nowadays... I think places like Five Guys and Potbelly's have done well in GR, no? Still waiting for Shake Shack to come. On the other hand, Qdoba left LA a few years ago, and GR still has it! I miss it, Qdoba > Chipotle.

Washington Post has a write up about Saugatuck as an LGBT destination: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/08/24/gay-beach-resort-saugatuck-michigan/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wp_bytheway&crl8_id=7825bd64-1d27-4b22-857a-eb54e0f12e56

Is there a job you haven't had?? LOL Thank you for this though - I love your history posts!

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/travel/americas-best-towns-to-visit/ #8 on CNN for America's Best Towns to Visit. Great write-up and video. Pretty up to date too, since they mention the Amphitheater and planned soccer stadium.

I’ve never been there but you have to admire their online marketing strategy.

Razing 401 Leonard makes me sad too. I wish there was a way they could keep the old "John Ley" building facade up (with a new paint job of course ) and construct around it. That's what they did in LA for this apartment tower on Sunset Blvd. The white facade with the Spanish tile used to be an Old Spaghetti Factory. The city made the developer keep it and build the tower behind it.

They're just going off of the Census' MSA definitions, probably off of this map. Currently the Census defines the MSA as Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood but I think it might change based on year (MJLO probably knows). They have some criteria for determining whether or not additional principal cities get to be included in the MSA name and the order they appear.

Welcome back x99. It's been a minute!

I'm already booked to fly Allegiant nonstop LAX --> GRR next month and I am PUMPED! I've lived in LA for 12 years now and have never flown direct before. I've seen Allegiant offer this but it's always only Mondays and Fridays. The dates have never matched up with my plans so I've never been able to do it... but this time it worked out and it's saving me a bunch of money I would've spent on another airline. Y'all in GR should come out and visit LA so we can get more nonstop options. Let's go.

My preferred site would be on the juror parking lot across the street from Riverhouse. They can find another spot for jurors to park.

Dammit. Jinxed it

Posting this here because we’ve brought up crime in this thread as having an impact on businesses. Homicide is down nationwide so far this year compared to 2023. Grand Rapids is on the list, with a big fat zero in homicides so far. Even Detroit has a pretty sharp decrease. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/murder-rates-down-new-york-san-francisco-philadelphia-508b6855?st=2fkt047y43fn97i&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink