Features

While the Grand Rapids culinary scene continues to improve every year, there has been one steady ship pushing the boundaries for West Michigan diners the past decade.

Saugatuck is one of those communities that in the dead of winter seems a million miles away.

Well before U2 became the biggest band in the world, they found an enthusiastic audience at the Fountain Street Church.

You may have explored the lakeshore’s stellar large parks, traversing shaded trails in Hoffmaster State Park, Saugatuck Dunes State Park and the like. Here, we’ll introduce you to six of their diminutive cousins.

Some years ago there were billboards advertising Ludington as “Up North, Close By.”

For 50 years, Harbor Humane Society has cared for and found homes for stray and surrendered cats, dogs, and other domestic animals.

A few short years ago, the restaurant industry was so badly crippled many establishments across the country were not able to crawl their way back out.

I once saw a bumper sticker in Los Angeles that read: “Where the hell is Pentwater?”

In Fennville there’s a weekly jam session that does not need more publicity. I made my first visit to The What Not Inn on the most miserable May 1 on record — 40 degrees with vicious, windblown rain.

In the age of social media, it’s common for restaurants to open and create lots of social buzz, but no restaurant has done so with such ease and success at Black Napkin.

As Craft distiller Eastern Kille gets ready to move out to a new, gorgeous facility in Rockford, 7755 Childsdale Ave. NE, leaving behind its original Ottawa Avenue home...

For those who had a soft spot for Shanghai Ichiban, there is good news for you.

The weather may have cooled down this week, but the musical acts gracing the stages of Grand Rapids are as hot as ever.

Whether you’re in town for a convention or visiting family, or you’re a local looking for fresh ideas, this directory is for you.

Maine calls itself “The Lighthouse State.” Ha.  Guess Maine hasn’t been to Michigan lately. 

From Furniture City and Beer City USA to the birthplace of ArtPrize, Grand Rapids has garnered a national reputation for creativity, commerce and collaboration.

Abraham Lincoln. Billy the Kid. Civil War soldiers, dour and focused. A decorated General Custer. Nineteenth century families, seated and serious. 

For John Naum, going to work with his dad as a child meant testing the candy made in the Sweetland Candies shop. He’s now got grandchildren doing the same thing.

The best new spots in town include three new establishments on Bridge St.

Nestled just inland from the lakeshore in Holland is the idyllic Felt Estate – a sweeping 15-acre property.