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Blighted Division Avenue building getting a new purpose — the Candied Yam's second location

The owner says she hopes to make the area better for all through hard work and due diligence. Most of all, through delicious homestyle cooking.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's a win-win for Grand Rapids. A second location of a popular southside restaurant is coming to the heart of the city — and taking over a long-blighted building in the process. 

The Candied Yam, a southern food hotspot, has been open on 44th Street SE for seven years. They offer hearty from-scratch, free-from-preservative meals, as well as employment opportunities for the most vulnerable.

"Think of Grandma. Grandma is back there, peeling, slicing and dicing," said owner Jessica Ann Tyson. "If you want fresh catfish, collard greens, candied yams, fried pork chops, mac and cheese — that's us."

Now, with a $2.1 million investment, they're expanding to Division Avenue. 

They plan to take over the "eyesore" that's plagued 932 Division Avenue with broken windows, gang signs and graffiti for 12 years, Tyson said. 

The 7,274-square-foot building was originally built in 1931 as The Sanitary Grocery & Fruit Market. It was most recently The Half Moon in 1997 before it was shuttered. When construction is complete, it will now be used as another Candied Yam restaurant, banquet and event space. 

Tyson will be one of three equal partners in the commercial real estate site. 

"I wouldn't say we picked it, but it picked us," said Tyson. "I made this commitment and invested because 932 is a highly visible and accessible place where the community, stakeholders, senior citizens and families can gather and make lovely memories."

The Muller family, who own Ben Muller Realty Co. and 932 Division, asked Tyson to move into the building. 

Tyson said she hopes to make the area better for all through hard work and due diligence. Most of all, through delicious homestyle cooking. 

"We are fortunate to be a part of the community, and we hope to be good neighbors," she said. "We're hoping that that will play a lot of attraction for other people, there's a lot right next door to us, and I'm sure sooner or later, that's going to be taken just like that."

    

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