Grand Rapids and West, Michigan: World of Winter and Outdoor Dining

 December 2020 - January 2021

I am sharing a few of our outside experiences during COVID-19 in Michigan. Restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, etc. have all been closed in Michigan since mid-November. The current reopen date is February 1, 2021.

Rosa Parks Circle where ice games were set up
(photo taken before games were out)

Grand Rapids World of Winter

We visited Grand Rapids two times after Christmas; once in December, and once in late January. We were surprised to see the city so empty after Christmas. Downtown was mostly empty in January also, although the area was getting a tad busier on Saturday afternoon before we departed. 

Before our second visit, we had seen photos online of some of the ice games, such as fuse ball, and bag toss. We had hoped more of the ice sculptures might be out early (they are usually out around the start of February); however, they were not. In fact, we did not see a couple of things that were on the World of Winter calendar, even though the start date for them was before we were there: the Ice Piano (Canal Park), and Grand Illuminations (Gillette Bridge behind DeVos Hall). The Singing Tree was not lit or signing when we walked through Canal Park. The original start time for this display was 11AM, so possibly it shuts off overnight until 11AM, although it does not specify that on the calendar. We walked through Canal Park in the late morning before 11:00. Our favorite display was the interactive seesaws--much cooler than portrayed in the video above! Yes, we went on one. 😊

Blue Water Bridge in distance

Outside dining & breweries in west Michigan

I am sharing some info about business we have visited with outside seating, since I imagine these areas will still be utilized when restaurants reopen at only 25% capacity.

Monroe Center in Grand Rapids December 2020 

In Grand Rapids, we visited Brick & Porter, Uccello's, Brewery Vivant, Elk Brewing, CityBuilt, and New Holland Knickerbocker.

Many places downtown Grand Rapids have outside seating setup, and in some areas, you can get alcoholic beverages to-go and walk with them. This is great, if you want something to drink while browsing the World of Winter. You can find maps of the three refreshment zones here.

Nacho plate at Uccello's

At Brick & Porter we got the Lil Squeeler to-go, which was excellent. We thought the two coldest places where we ate were Uccello's and Brewery Vivant. Uccello's has outside tents with sides; however, all of the sides were up when we were there, and it was breezy. At Brewery Vivant, we were seated at one of the long wooden picnic tables. The roof is quite high (where the heaters are located), so we did not feel much heat. The food, beverages, and service were all great at Brewery Vivant. Elk Brewing was a fabulous place to stop for a beverage on our walk back to downtown. We arrived right when they opened, and were able to get a private igloo with heater for an hour at no extra charge (other than the beverages we purchased, which were excellent). New Holland has a good sized outside area, and CityBuilt is located in one of the refreshment zones where an outside tent is also located.

Flat River Brewing in Greenville

Other places we have visited in west Michigan during the pandemic with outside seating include: Guardian Brewing in Saugatuck, Flat River Brewing in Greenville, Third Nature Brewing and Rockford Brewing in Rockford, Schmohz and Brass Ring Brewing outside of downtown Grand Rapids, Unruly Brewing in Muskegon, and Three Blondes in South Haven.

Three Blondes Brewing

The wooden shanties at Brass Ring are cozy, and their food and beers are excellent. You can reserve a shanty online. Guardian Brewing has heaters outside, along with a fire pit, and some excellent food choices. They were out of the Cranberry Jalapeño Baked Brie when we were there, so we settled for soup. I am surprised more locations do not have soup on the menu. This is easy to eat with gloves on when dining outside. There is an outside area downtown Rockford with wood fires, which is similar to the refreshment zones in Grand Rapids; you can take beverages from Rockford Brewing to the fire pit area (the brewery also has a few tables outside). Unruly Brewing has an outside beverage window, so patrons do not need to go inside to order. There is a charge for an igloo at Three Blondes Brewing; however, we were lucky to get one for no charge when patrons departed early. We decided to stay for a refill and something to eat after getting the igloo.

This is just a summary of some of our experiences. Let me know if you have any questions!