i absolutely love working weekends at The Found Cottage. LOVE IT. i get to see all of our lovely regulars but i also get to meet the people who drove from hours away just to come visit us! i cannot tell you how honored that makes me feel when you walk through the door and tell me you just drove from ohio, detroit, madison to come visit the store. my heart could seriously burst with pride and gratefulness. but what i love almost as much as you visiting our store is the opportunity to play concierge to our city. if you haven’t guessed from reading my blog there are two things i really pride myself at being talented in. 1.) shopping 2.) eating. and i love giving away little secret favorite places for out of towners (and in towners too) to go and visit after hanging out with us. i could plan out weeks and weeks and weeks for things for you to go out and enjoy but i’m going to start with doing a 1 day trip, long weekend and maybe even a week, month or maybe i can convince you to just move here? who knows. never say never. so here it is my first city guide. 1 day trip.
the found cottage opens at 10am which is a great place for you to start. i would recommend quick stopping in to signatures in hudsonville for a coffee and sprinkles for an amazing donut to hold you over until you can make it to brunch (most people come on saturday and i’m a firm believer in saturdays are for brunching). these two places are about 5 minutes down the road from us 🙂 after that come on and visit us at 10am. i find that most out of towners spend about 1-2 hours shopping around and hanging out with us. WE LUV IT.
rebel of east town
when you are ready to leave (and trust me we are sad to see you go) i would recommend heading to terra gr for brunch/lunch. they are a locally owned and sourced farm to table restaurant about 15 – 20 minutes from us just on the outside of downtown grand rapids. the drive is easy and the parking is typically abundant (some meters unless you can park in terra’s parking lot). i love their pork belly hash as well as any of their pizzas (and cocktails). once you have let your food digest you can walk to our next destination.
rebel of east town
rebel reclaimed is located in the same neighborhood as terra gr and you can walk right out the door down the sidewalk to it. it is the cutest shop owned by my pals chip and dann. the displays are amazing and the product is so unique you won’t be able to find it anywhere else. They have a great mix of handmade local artists and national artists, gift, and accessories.. not to mention the endless hours you’ll spend pouring over their hilarious cards. when i’m in their shop i usually have a 30/70 rule. i buy 30% gifts for other people and about 70% on myself. BUT COME ON! I just bought these adorable ceramic berry baskets and towels with vintage pyrex prints on them! you know how i feel about pyrex. this is a great place to spend an hour shopping and letting your brunch digest.
rebel of east town
if you are in the mood for one more alcoholic beverage you should hit up one of east towns best breweries, harmony brewery. i’ll be honest i’m not much of a beer drinker but they have other goodies as well as delicious pizzas. this is also not a bad walk if the weather is pleasant. a lot of women use harmony brewery as an enticing tool to get their husbands to continue on. just a suggestion.
rebel of east town
ok so you’ve had your brunch, you’ve shopped, you’ve had a beer (maybe) you probably want something sweet and a little caffeine? i would hope back in the car and drive maybe 5 minutes up the road to le bon macaron. this is a fairly new addition to grand rapids. in fact they are in my old stores space. it’s a cute little brick building in the cherry street district. there are other great little shops there for the outdoor enthusiast, doggy and baby. lots of strolling ability there. i would HIGHLY recommend the marie antoinette macaron and a lavender latte. and if you are a instagram freak like me, it’s the perfect spot for a great shop (brick, marble, macaron = perfect shot).
le bon macaron grand rapids
this could take you into late afternoon so if you need to get going i would recommend a snack for the ride home at marie catribs which is within walking distance from le bon (careful they close at 4 on saturday!) i would get the chocolate pudding to go and the thai peanut pasta (omg). if you have a cooler pack it full because it’s delicious. if you have time for dinner definitely go to maru or brewery vivant for a nice dinner before heading home. (all within walking distance of le bon).
rebel of east town
ok so that should take you one super full saturday (no pun intended) Hope to see you soon!
For your GPS:
Signatures Coffee: 6375 Balsam Dr. Hudsonville, MI
Sprinkles Donut: 6450 28th ave. Hudsonville, MI
The Found Cottage: 2450 Chicago Drive. SW Hudsonville, MI
Terra: 1429 Lake Drive SE Grand Rapids, MI
Rebel Reclaimed: 1409 Robinson Road. Grand Rapids, MI
Harmony Brewing: 1551 Lake Drive. SE Grand Rapids, MI
le Bon macaron: 951 Cherry St. Grand Rapids, MI
Marie Catribs: 1001 Lake Drive. Grand Rapids, MI
Maru: 927 Cherry Street. Grand Rapids, MI
Brewery Vivant: 925 Cherry Street. Grand Rapids, MI
rebel of east town
Great list! I have lived in GR most of my life but haven’t been to many of these. I finally tried Marie Catribs this winter and it was great!
you need to go to to Le Bon and Terra! So tasty!
Yes I love this! I definitely have to visit the found cottage soon, and terra gr has to be one of my favorite restaurants in GR (reallllly close to the old goat)
LOVE ME some Old Goat