Change is always difficult in life, and when a favorite spot of yours, shop, theater, restaurant, bar, closes, you feel a loss. It had been a part of your life, and you hate to see it end.

I get a sad, nostalgic feeling when I drive by Breton Village, by way of Burton, now. The long running, classic watering hole/restaurant, Great Lakes Shipping Company is coming down. It closed in May, but they have now begun tearing it down. Sniff...sniff.

Courtesy GR Retro
Courtesy GR Retro
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Thanks to the web site, GR Retro, we can relive a few memories.

The food was always consistent, not gourmet but good, hearty meals. The drinks were well served, and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.

Courtesy GR Retro
Courtesy GR Retro
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The restaurant was the longest-running tenant for Breton Village, built in 1971 and opening as The Starboard Tack, ah yes, I remember that, by West Michigan restaurateur Richard DenUyl. DenUyl died in 2008. He had opened nearly 20 restaurants in his career, including the Point West Inn overlooking Lake Macatawa in Holland, which is also gone.

Courtesy GR Retro
Courtesy GR Retro
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Their lease wasn't renewed. The owners of the property said the restaurant didn't fit their plans for the renewed Breton Village, and there was no other place to move. The Great Lakes Shipping Company had been a favorite spot in Grand Rapids for so long. I hate to see another one bite the dust.

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