Kalamazoo -
Restaurants come and restaurants go. That's been especially true in Kalamazoo as of late. Here is some local restaurant news. Probably not all of these will succeed. Which ones will you frequent?
1. ThunderBird River Ranch
Newly opened, I give this place a year, tops. It's basically just Arcadia Ales 2.0. I think it will suffer from the same challenges that killed the original prospect. An over-saturated downtown restaurant market, less-accessible and less walkable than the nearby competition, riddled with nearby homeless encampments, persistent labor shortages, just average-looking food, and bad décor / overall ambiance. Plus, a stupid-sounding name -
2. HighDive Kitchen + Bar
This one might have a better chance, centrally located in the former Olde Peninsula Brewpub (and maybe eventually expanding into the adjacent Grand Traverse Distillery with SideBar) -
3. The Hub Tavern & Grill
I'd give this one a 50/50 success rate. Good location, but just a rehashed version of Central City TapHouse -
4. Apoptosis Brewing Company
This one is scheduled to open in the former Big Apple Bagel shop on South Westnedge. Not sure if its location away from the concentration of downtown restaurants will help it or hurt it (it didn't seem to help the bagel shop) -
5. Theo & Stacy's
In closure news, a long-term staple is finally shutting its doors -