Features

Animals take center stage at John Ball Zoo—otters frolicking in their new home, snow leopards and sloth, pygmy hippos and red pandas—

Here at Grand Rapids Magazine, we keep a close eye on the city’s evolving food scene, highlighting the newest and most exciting places to eat.

Grand Rapids’ dining scene is buzzing like never before. While restaurants nationwide have faced unprecedented challenges—from pandemic shutdowns to shifting consumer habits—our city proves...

While its name might not inspire the cleanest of environments, Dirty Plate Bistro opened in fall 2025 across from one of the hottest spots in town, Black Napkin, the smash burger joint that often has a line around the corner.

Thrifting is the new cool these days as shoppers young, mature, and in-between flock to area thrift stores.

The Frequently Asked Questions section of the St. Cecilia Music Center website opens with a direct question: Are we a religious organization? The answer is unequivocal. No religious affiliation.

Christmas Eve eve coffee with my daughter began with a stop at Muskegon’s new — and only — cat cafe, The Whisker Room, 926 2nd St. Muskegon.

In West Michigan, surrounded by orchards, dairy farms, and fields that smell like fresh soil in the spring, it can be strangely difficult to buy an an ear of corn or an apple grown down the road.

International chocolatier Lindt recently released its rankings of the best Ski & Sip resorts for hot chocolate aficionados, rating each by quality, availability, and price.

In October, downtown Grand Rapids glowed with the kind of warmth that happens only during Michigan’s fleeting fall—golden light caught the brickwork of the old Harris Building.

In Grand Rapids, Italian dining tells a story that stretches from Old World family recipes to game‑day pies and polished coastal plates.

As the holidays approach, it’s comforting to know there are people in Grand Rapids whose mission is simple yet profound: to ensure the city’s unhoused population experiences as much comfort, support, and joy as possible throughout the season—and beyond.

For 20 years, DeVos Place—together with the adjoining DeVos Performance Hall—has stood as a central gathering point in downtown Grand Rapids.

For many West Michigan families, Thanksgiving weekend marks more than the end of the pumpkin-pie parade—it’s the unofficial green light to start decking the halls.

Step inside The Bridge Fair Trade Gift Shop, and it’s immediately clear this isn’t another holiday pop-up or boutique full of mass-produced décor.

A little magic has descended upon Saugatuck’s Cook Park, 40 Water Street, Saugatuck.

When The Søvengård opened on Bridge Street in 2016, it was before the neighborhood blossomed into the lively dining destination it is today.

If you happened to spot Mr. Monopoly out and about recently—posing on the Blue Bridge, tipping his top hat outside Van Andel Arena, or strolling through city parks—you weren’t imagining things.

Some ride their bikes to get to the Farmers Market in Muskegon. Others, from farther away, drive vehicles that carry their bikes.

In a cozy corner of downtown Grand Rapids, something purr-fect just happened.