GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The owner of The Bitter End Coffeehouse welcomed his new baby into the world Sunday, but by Monday morning he was back at work.
John Sprite woke up to the news that his shop had been robbed by two armed men wearing ski masks just after 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29. Sprite rushed to the shop on little to no sleep or food.
"That's John. John's going to be there," said Westside Collaborative executive director Jim Davis.
Sprite said an incident like this had not happened in at least 15 years at the 24-hour coffee shop on Fulton Street West.
"Despite being open 24 hours and despite being in a community that some people want to argue isn’t safe, it's proven to be quite the opposite," Davis said. "So, I'm really sad that this sort of blemish on our record is reinforcing some peoples inaccurate assumptions and accusations about the area."
The Bitter End is a Westside staple, Davis chalks that up to good leadership and inclusiveness.
"At any moment of any day when you walk in there – you're going to get a pretty good cross section of our community. Very few businesses are that representative," Davis said.
Davis and other Westsiders were quick to rally around the business, and by late morning Monday, it was back to business as usual. Sprite was able to return back to his family and newborn by midday.
Grand Rapids police are still searching for the two suspects, anyone with any information should call the department at 616-456-3404 or the Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
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