If you’re driving by the intersection of 44th and Kalamazoo, you may (or may not) notice a weathered strip mall fronted by a sign portraying a horse and buggy.
Like the rest of the architecture, Towne & Country Shopping Center’s signage hasn’t changed much since 1956, when founder Chuck Wiersma bought the lot from a dairy farmer in exchange for cows. But to Richard App, this modest commercial hub represents his own career history — and the multicultural future of Grand Rapids.
Since early 2020, App has advocated for city stores and restaurants as Grand Rapids’ first Retail Retention and Attraction Specialist. (His position is funded jointly by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Grand Rapids and Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.)
But most of his career has been in retail. His best-known businesses were Richard App Gallery and NOMAD Gallery, but his first business got its start at Towne & Country. “My mom called me one day and said that Towne & Country Photo was for sale,” App recalled. “They had lab equipment, a dark room, and a photo studio. I was 23 at the time, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to start my own business!’”
Follow the money
Fast-forward to January 2020, when App started his job with the city — less than months before the US locked down in the face of COVID-19. “There was no real road map on how this was going to work,” App said. “Originally I was retail attraction and retention. The idea was attraction was the big part of the story. On March 15, when the state was effectively shut down, they switched my title to “retention and attraction” instead of ‘attraction and retention.’” App found himself attending a raft of meetings about grants being made available to help retailers weather the pandemic. “I don’t think businesses realize the kind of monies that are available to them in the different parts of the city — and I’ve been incredibly vocal about saying, ‘Do you see what’s here? Do you see what we can do?’
“We’ve been able to bring several national retailers into our downtown, which we didn’t have. But we’ve brought a lot of good businesses downtown. We brought in record stores. We brought in these vintage and upcycling stores. These are all from people that are in their 20s, in their 30s and a little bit into their 40s, yeah, which is where we’re growing the fastest. So, it’s exciting to see this, and to be able to tell people what kind of grants are downtown is amazing.”
League of nations
All of which brings App to Towne & Country’s unique cultural and economic niche among Grand Rapids neighborhoods. This little retail strip is home to a world-class assortment of international shops and restaurants. However, its position way out at the border of Kentwood puts it outside the city’s business associations and the Corridor Improvement Authority funds aimed at Southtown, Michigan Street, the West Side and other neighborhoods.
Town & Country has more than enough shops to organize its own business association, App remarked over lunch at Gursha Ethiopian Restaurant. We’d stopped at this Towne & Country standout for lunch after shopping for produce and international treats at the Mediterranean Island supermarket located catty-corner from the restaurant.
“There’s a Sri Lankan restaurant, there are East Asian markets, there’s African hair braiding … At my last count, there were 14 immigrant business owners here,” App said. “And when you start thinking about it, the only place in Michigan that could probably rival this would be the Eastern Market in Detroit.
“In a world where we’re always talking about diversity, shouldn’t we help this place grow and serve all of Grand Rapids?”
To make it happen, App envisions a rebrand that replaces the horse and buggy with signage and marketing that befits an international business district. Getting there will require buy-in from the businesses as well as fresh funding sources. “I want to come in with a city lens and a Chamber lens,” he said. “I want people to know what’s here. When you go by, it doesn’t give you a good indication of the business. Not at all!”
Besides starting a business association, App said, “perhaps we can find more money to help push businesses into this area — which is, you know, a very concentrated part of the city from a residential standpoint.”
“When visitors ask me to show them a unique part of Grand Rapids, I bring them here. This is a key part of our business recipe. That’s why I’m so passionate about figuring out how to put a business association here: Associations that work together create better business by promoting each other.
“We need to have longer, more meaningful conversations with business owners here to tell them why there’s a value in having a business association,” App said. “Number two, we need to go after funding sources to actually help implement the ideas that are here. I would love to find a funding source that could help get better signage for all the businesses that are here. If we get a really good brand specialist, we can put something consistent together.”
Besides the retail mix, Towne & Country offers another attraction for Grand Rapidians: parking. “There’s still a ridiculous amount of free parking here,” App said. “I know this is one of the biggest retail parking lots in the city.”
From cow pasture to car park, Towne & Country still offers room to roam.
Richard App’s Towne & Country must-trys:
Grand Rapids’ Retail Retention and Attraction Specialist has been dining and shopping at Towne and Country since he was a kid. Here’s a sample platter of his favorite current shops.
Mediterranean Island International Foods. This handsome supermarket offers high-quality produce and some of Grand Rapids’ best halal meats as well as aisles of specialties from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Want fresh hummus or Iraqi flatbread? Comparison shopping for ajvar or fava beans that represent half-a-dozen countries’ special recipes? Hankering for fresh figs, Afghani almond cookies, or an olive and pickled vegetable bar? Want to try Dubai chocolate? Mediterranean Island’s got it … Most any time, the checkout line includes a United Nations of shoppers.
Gursha Ethiopian Restaurant. Since 2013, Kasahun Beharselase has served Grand Rapids’ most authentic Ethiopian food to visitors as well as the town’s sizable East African community. That includes a new breakfast menu as well as public buffets for Ethiopian Orthodox New Year (Sept. 11); Christmas (Jan. 7); and Easter (April 20). Beharselase just opened a retail shop next door; Ethio Mart features Ethiopian products and dry goods, as well as a shiny new press to create injera flatbread at industrial scale.
Mithru Sri Lankan & Indian Cuisine. Located directly southeast of India, the island nation of Sri Lanka is fiercely proud of its special South Asian cuisine — and Mithru owner Tharma Thuraisingam serves it up for newbies as well as the Sri Lankan community. Check out the Chettinad potatoes, fried up with special spices in traditional Tamil style.
Fatima African Hair Braiding. This salon’s hair craft taps into traditions of West Africa, and the store sells much more that represents the region, including finely crafted baskets, jewelry, and colorful dresses and wraps.
Madina International Food. Ahmad Ahmadi opened this store about a year ago to sell goods from his native Afghanistan to the 200 to 300 Afghani families who live in Kent County. He’s also a must-stop for shoppers with roots in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and more. Besides his groceries, check out the beautiful Afghani costumes Afghani sells for special occasions.
Urartu International Foods. This Russian grocery store advertises bread, chocolate and smoked fish, as well as Slavic pickles, preserves and potions.
Everest Marketplace. Owner Nandu Dangal said that in addition to customers from his native Nepal, his store brings in customers from Burma and Bangladesh, as well as African countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan. Check out the store’s assortment of Himalayan dry goods as well as its woven mats and chairs.
N&K Market (formerly Hornbill Asian Market), Chin Hills Asian Grocery Store, Eden Asian Marketplace. Towne & Country Burmese has boasted not one, not two, but three independent Burmese groceries for more than a decade … Although none of them seem to agree on who got there first. Why not explore all three? In addition to common grocery fare, they’ve got frozen seafood and vegetables from East Asia; cookware; and special seasonings like pickled tea and pandam (a leafy plant also known as “Asian vanilla.”)
Towne & Country also features some innovative shops with concepts born in the USA.
Duds N Suds. App helped owner Edward Lewis Diallo Bates open Michigan’s first laundromat to serve beer and wine. “If I’m a young father or mother living in an apartment and I don’t have laundry service, here’s a beautiful space where I can meet up with my friends while we all do laundry,” App said. “Instead of this just being a work obligation, it can be a social part of your life!”
Great Lakes Disc. “The Frisbee place here is one of the busiest in the state,” App said. “That makes sense because two of the top three disc golf courses in the state of Michigan are here: Garfield Park and Riverside Park.”
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