A cheese, charcuterie and beverage business within the Grand Rapids Downtown Market is reopening its patio and kicking off an expansion of its total footprint.
Amy Ruis, owner of Aperitivo, said the business located in the Downtown Market, at 435 Ionia Ave. SW in Grand Rapids, is reopening its outdoor patio Monday and adding another 250 square feet to accommodate new social distancing requirements.
Maximum group sizes per table at this time will be four people. Customers are required to enter through the market to check in with masks required to be worn in the building.
Ruis said Aperitivo will keep its indoor bar closed while it expands into the area formerly leased by Madcap Coffee, which announced June 8 on Facebook that it is pulling out of the Downtown Market. Meanwhile, the indoor retail space will remain open.
The indoor expansion is expected to be completed by early September, Ruis said. Aperitivo’s total indoor footprint will be 2,000 square feet.
The indoor addition will allow for an increase in bar and table seating, as well as a walk-up area where customers can order “fun, European-style sandwiches” called “bocadillos,” inspired by the Aperitivo team’s travels to Spain and other parts of Europe, Ruis said.
Assisting in the expansion effort are Evan Talen, general manager; Ryan Murphy, newly named beverage director and assistant manager; and Ben VanderWaal, lead bartender.
Ruis said Aperitivo is excited to reopen.
“While there’s a bit of apprehension with all the changes and things we need to be really careful with, we’re looking forward to having our staff back to doing all of what they signed up for — bringing people fantastic charcuterie and wines,” she said.
“As for the expansion project, we feel like we can do so much more with our offerings with a redesign of the spaces. We’ll have more wine and beer selections, as well as added retail space for more cheese accompaniments, and we’re looking forward to having space to hold our very popular classes without having to take over the whole bar for the evening.”
Ruis said this summer “seemed to be a perfect time to make this swing and freshen up our space for everyone to enjoy even more in the coming years.”
Aperitivo’s initial service hours will be noon-7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
More information is available at aperitivogr.com or by calling (616) 259-7045.
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