eagle

grdad, Are the pictures you took of the retaining wall of the Towers "hole" on that thread taken with your Kodak? I have not been happy with my EasyShare and get results that look similar to your picture of the retaining wall. Sorry to be off topic but have you found the Canon to be better?

That's a good question. And I'm not smarter than you so I can't help. I know he has been involved in some developments downtown. I don't know much about them though. Maybe it doesn't work well for a catering business logistically?

Finleys is a part of River City Food Company, www.rcfc.com, owned by local businessman (Universal Forest Products), former ambassador to Italy, Philanthropist (i.e. millenium park,) Peter Secchia. Their offices are on Lake Eastbrook Dr.

Great discussion. I, too, would much rather see more retail downtown that another suburban development. It's just too hard for many business owners to justify staying, or moving downtown when all the customers are flocking to the "malls." We're good friends with the owner of a business that has been an icon on monroe mall for over 120 years. It's an amazing store, in a beautiful building, with many of the same furnishings that the store originally opened with. Despite my pleadings they are very seriously considering moving out toward Knapp and the Beltline. While I (and those of you on this forum) see the new development downtown and can picture a busy retail center in a few years once more people move downtown, it's not seen by other people. Perception is reality and most consumers just don't think about driving downtown, paying for parking, and having to deal with the elements when they can drive to the mall, spend time indoors and get anything they need. While the owners understand that I'd much rather shop at their store downtown thay raise a good questions. While I'd "rather" shop there how many time have I "acatually" purchased something there in the last year? The truth is, I haven't. It's great to have a cool store, in a cool location, but they have to go where the customers are. The facts are that they're getting their butts kicked by the suburban chains. Couple this with the fact that he's been held up by armed robbers multiple times in the last couple of years and has to deal with all the homeless "scaring" his customer away and the deals just about been sealed. I just wish they could hold on for another 5 years. How do we convince the average, run of the mill consumer, that they need to support locally owned businesses and that the success of their downtown is important to the success of the whole area?

Hey...We're all paramedics or at least emergency medical technicians in Grand Rapids! Show us some respect! No such things as Ambulance drivers around here.