Kalamazoo commissioners cancel membership with Southwest Michigan First over CEO selection
Updated Feb 16, 2021;
KALAMAZOO, MI The Kalamazoo City Commission has distanced itself from Southwest Michigan First after the organization hired a new CEO with a high-profile political resume and views that commissioners say they do not agree with.
Former Michigan Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield has been hired as CEO of the economic development nonprofit Southwest Michigan First, the organization announced on Thursday, Feb. 11.
At the Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Monday, Feb. 15, Commissioner Erin Knott made the motion that the city withdraw from Southwest Michigan First’s Council of 100, which includes other entities such as Western Michigan University, Bronson HealthCare, Millennium Restaurant Group, Greenleaf Trust, Stryker, and others, according to the Southwest Michigan First web site.
Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew aims to create a sweet spot at Disney Springs' West Side. The specialty doughnut shop is now open next to Splitsville Luxury Lanes.
Tour the private dining rooms made from moving container PODS in Kalamazoo
Updated Jan 10, 2021;
KALAMAZOO, MI As temperatures fall below freezing and the ban on indoor dining in Michigan continues, restaurants are coming up with creative ideas for safe outdoor dining.
Cove Lakeside Bistro and 600 Kitchen and Bar were caught in a balancing act of adhering to coronavirus guidelines and fighting Michigan weather, Millennium Restaurant Group Managing Partner Shelly Pastor said.
Both restaurants offer takeout, but even with carryout orders were only seeing about 10% of typical sales, Pastor said. Offering a space for guests and keeping their employees working were among the reasons prompting the restaurants to create the new outdoor spaces, using PODS-brand moving and storage containers.
Moving container PODS turned into makeshift private dining rooms at Kalamazoo restaurants
Updated Dec 31, 2020;
Facebook Share
KALAMAZOO, MI A year of unprecedented problems called for unprecedented solutions. Kalamazoo’s Millennium Restaurant Group is thinking outside of the igloo as it transforms moving containers into private dining rooms.
Cove Lakeside Bistro and 600 Kitchen and Bar were caught in a balancing act of adhering to coronavirus guidelines and fighting Michigan weather, Millennium Restaurant Group Managing Partner Shelly Pastor said.
Both restaurants offer takeout, but even with carryout orders they are only seeing about 10% of typical sales, Pastor said.
“We have to figure out how we can keep people in a job,” Pastor said.
20 bars and restaurants that opened or closed in the Kalamazoo area in 2020
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
Posted Dec 21, 2020
(top left to right) Three restuarants that closed this year The Union, Bravo Restaurant and Cafe, Theo and Stacy s Restaurant. (Bottom left to right) Three restaurants that opened this year: Turbo Chicken, Rose St. Nutrition, and Load a Spud.
Facebook Share
KALAMAZOO, MI The restaurant and bar industries have been under the microscope as the world grapples with how to safely gather and enjoy dining during a global pandemic.
After a slew of executive orders have opened, closed and restricted the industry, a look back at 2020 shows that at least 11 Kalamazoo business owners took the risk of opening, despite the pandemic.