Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Which favorite Grand Rapids restaurants disappeared—and what opened instead?

Coming up on the Grand Rapids Patch calendar: Harlem Globetrotters

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Greetings Grand Rapids! Your go-to source for what's happening in town is here. Stay in the loop and read on. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Which favorite Grand Rapids restaurants disappeared—and what opened instead?
  • Could 3D-printed homes help fix Grand Rapids’ housing crunch?
  • Meet the Grand Rapids newborn who kicked off 2026 in style

Also on today's calendar: Free Admission to Grand Rapids Cultural Institutions with Museums on Us® and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Grand Rapidsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: I got fired from the M&M factory. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Grand Rapidsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Saturday: Cloudy, afternoon flurries, with a high of 29 and low of 20 degrees.
  • Sunday: Chilly with low clouds, temps: high: 26, low: 25.
  • Monday: Low clouds, with a high of 37 and low of 29 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. 30 restaurants, breweries that opened or closed around Grand Rapids in 2025 (mlive.com) — If you eat out around Grand Rapids, 2025 brought big changes, from new spots like Allora, Garden District and Go Vegan GR to the closures of longtime favorites such as The Green Well, Rockwell Republic and GRNoir. This roundup walks you through which restaurants, bars and cafes opened, shut down, or transformed across the city and nearby suburbs.
   

2. Grand Rapids housing advocate pushes 3D printed homes as affordable solution to city shortage (fox17online.com) — Grand Rapids leaders are weighing 3D-printed homes as one possible tool to ease the city’s affordable housing shortage and reach a goal of 14,000 new homes by 2027. Local advocate Dee Jones, himself previously displaced, is urging officials to embrace the lower-cost construction technology, which has already been piloted in Detroit and other states.
   

3. This adorable first baby of 2026 arrived just hours after the ball dropped (mlive.com) — Grand Rapids rang in 2026 with the arrival of New Year’s baby Shepherd Isaac Anderson, born early Jan. 1 at University of Michigan Health-West’s Childbirth Center. The healthy newborn and parents are doing well, and Corewell Health also welcomed its own first baby of the year in Grand Rapids.
   

4. Grand Rapids man accused of inappropriate online chats with minor (mlive.com) — A Grand Rapids man has been charged in Kent County after investigators say he engaged in inappropriate online conversations with someone he believed was a 14-year-old. Authorities arrested the 44-year-old on Dec. 30 and emphasized ongoing efforts by the county’s Human Trafficking Task Force to track and prosecute suspected online child exploitation.
   

5. We put a chair in downtown Grand Rapids and asked one question. Here's what happened (wzzm13.com) — Downtown Grand Rapids pedestrians recently braved the cold to share the best things that happened to them in 2025, from new babies and paid-off cars to big moves and fresh starts. Over one hour at Monroe Center and Pearl, a dozen strangers opened up about weddings, school milestones, and life changes that made their year special.
   

📸 Around Grand Rapids

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • I keep getting endless emails about my payment not processing (when I haven't paid to any of them) and to click on a link to update.
    DON'T DO THIS! Report as SPAM, every time. X Finity, different Cloud web addresses, a dozen in a day, Norton Security and others. Just Beware. (Nextdoor Madison)
  • Happy New Years Folks.
    I'm so happy All the neighbors were so loud It woke mom up so I. Can beg for breakfast extra early. (Nextdoor Kentwood)
  • Aramark Corporation posted a job opening for Custodial Services Worker - NHA-MI2-Custodial in Grand Rapids. Apply here.
  • Jeld-Wen, Inc. posted a job opening for Manufacturing Associates in Grand Rapids. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Grand Rapids here.

Ok Grand Rapids! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I kept throwing out all the W’s.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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