A unique Grand Rapids-area restaurant is slated to close at the end of the month.
The Great Lakes Shipping Co. Restaurant and Tavern will close its doors on May 28, president Bert Irwin said. That will be its last day open after serving the community for decades.
The owners' lease ran out in December and were given through May to relocate.
They've been looking for a place to a relocate and have possible agreements with various locations but cannot afford a bank loan right now, Irwin said.
The landlord, CWD Real Estate Investment, plans to tear the building down later this year. Originally Irwin thought CWD would move them somewhere else in Breton Village.
"It sounded like he was willing to do that and said he wanted us to but last Tuesday he informed us that he did not," says Irwin.
Irwin has been operating the restaurant for the past 17 years.
"It has been hard, my wife and I met here...my daughter works here...and my kids were raised here, and I hate to see it go," says Irwin.