WHITEHALL, Mich. — A beloved Muskegon County restaurant has a message for customers tonight: We're still open! This comes despite reports of a possible sale.
The city of Whitehall has been trying to acquire the property Big John's Pizza occupies since the 90s in order to create a city park.
Last week, city manager Scott Huebler told MLive the details of a purchase agreement made between Whitehall and Big John's owners, Amy and Neal Martell.
The Martells say since that article was published, they've received several calls every day to ask if they're still open. They're frustrated those details became public, potentially impacting business.
They want to clarify, yes, the restaurant is still open and it will remain open until a sale is finalized. In the meantime, both of the Martells are thankful for the words of encouragement they've received from customers.
"I just thank the community for their support," says Neal. "And for folks reaching out, it doesn't go unnoticed. There's a lot of people we haven't gotten back to because there's been so many. We just really appreciate that, it means a lot."
Huebler tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE that any work on the park project won't likely begin until 2025, and if the sale does go through, the city plans to demolish the building.
As for Big John's, if the sale does happen, the Martells do not have any plans to close the business and are hoping to find a new location to move the restaurant somewhere in the area.
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