From the moment that we opened the doors, Muskegon has welcomed us with open arms. We’ve had highs and lows and through them all we’ve been surrounded by love and support, thank you Muskegon!

Business, Family, Restaurant Startup, Small businessShawn ChurchAugust 12, 2019waitingtobecomesomething, feedthepeople, startwithbeautifulfood, bar, newbeginnings, buildingmenusandbuildings, newblogger, restaurantstory, buildingourdream, lovemuskegon, Teamchurch, Eatlocal, builtbyfamily, restaurantdesign, familybusiness, containerarchitecture, behindtheline, Ittakesavillage, grateful, muskegon, nipotesitaliankitchen, italianfood, repurposed, restaurateur, lavazzacoffee, downtownmuskegonnow, threesquaredinc, localfood, familymeal, muskegonnow, friendship, nipotesresearch, shippingcontainer, nipotes, containerrestaurant, startup, watchmuskegon, welovedowntown, littleblessings, restaurantstartup, #restaurantstartup, cantcontainit, upcycled, loveyourneighbor, gogreen, coffee, family, muskegonmichigan, gelato, lavazza, downtownmuskegon, knowehereyourfoodcomesfrom, flourpower, upcycle, containerconstruction, detroitshippingcompany, Heartofthehouse, ilovemuskegon, thatsfriendship, local, Wearedowntownmuskegon, watchusgomuskegon, restaurant, iheartmuskegon, shippingcontainerarchitecture, buildingadream, Family, gomkg, builtwithlove, containerdesign, teamchurch, contained

Dolce Vita

The final touches of the restaurant are beginning to take shape...

Shawn ChurchJune 30, 2019nipote, shippingcontainer, #restaurantstartup, shippingcontainerarchitecture, drinklikeanitalian, lovemuskegon, Teamchurch, lovedowntown, architecture, Family, containerarchitecture, restaurantstory, iheartlavazza, thatsfriendship, nipotesitaliankitchen, lavazza, Ittakesavillage, design, cargotecture, contained, nipoteswife, muskegonmichigan, buildingmenusandbuildings, Heartofthehouse, cargoarchitecture, containerconstruction, buildingadream, startup, artandarchitecture, bar, betterwithfriends, builtbyfamily, decor, builtwithlove, lavazzacoffee, becomingabuilding, nipotespractice, aperolspritz, buildingourdream, espresso, nipotes, teamchurch, restaurantstartup, downtownmuskegonnow, countyourblessings, Businessoffamily, italianfood, bialetti, cantcontainit, chipsandspritz, italiancoffee, team church, behindtheline, iheartmuskegon, downtownmuskegon, coooksinthekitchen, containerrestaurant, becomingnipoteswife, begrateful, restaurantdesign, downtown, containerdesign, becomingnipotes, architecturalrevolution, familybusiness, belocalsupportlocal, restaurantdecor, buildit, Wearedowntownmuskegon, coffee, friendship, construction, familymeal Comments

Be the Willow

If you know me personally, you know that planning is not my forte. I don’t have a need to have a plan, and I have always found a way to get things accomplished despite that trait...

Business, Travel, Personal, New, Restaurant StartupShawn ChurchDecember 30, 2018becomingabuilding, lookatthebrightside, luckywife, eatlocal, architecturalrevolution, restaurateur, nipotesitaliankitchen, countyourblessings, ecofriendly, nipote, muskegonbornmuskegonbread, begrateful, shippingcontainerarchitecture, waitingtobecomesomething, muskegonnow, upcycled, gogreen, salvagedbeauty, becomingnipotes, clayave, lovedowntown, thinkinsideofthebox, containerdesign, littleblessings, madewithlove, restaurant, downtownmuskegon, basiloneverything, downtown, restaurantstartup, downtownmuskegonnow, nipotesresearch, buildingadream, containerbar, Mlive, newblogger, roofsanddecksandfloorsohmy, watchmuskegongo, teamchurch, restaurantdesign, Firm foundation, ilovemuskegon, sunshine, knowyourfarmer, startwithbeautifulfood, shippingcontainer, family, bringyourkidtoworkday, design, Eatlocal, uptown, upcycle, firmfoundation, #mlive, framily, herecomesthesun, breakingground, nipotes, builtwithlove, feedthepeople, cargotecture, cantcontainit, shippingcontainerart, tablefortwo, familymeal, Bethewillow, grateful, actsoflove, containerarchitecture, nipoteswife, i💛yellow, watchusgomuskegon, watchmuskegon, buckconstruction, threesquaredinc, artandarchitecture, Ittakesavillage, restaurantstory, iheartmuskegon, Heartofthecity, reuse, welovedowntown, supportlocalbusiness, exploretheworld, belocalsupportlocal, paintthetownyellow, construction, uptownmuskegon, Businessoffamily, partnersmeeting, friendship, builtbyfamily, Family, newbeginnings, blessed, Teamchurch, Wearedowntownmuskegon, uptowngirls, architecture, interiordesign, #restaurantstartup, Heartofthehouse, localfood Comments

Happily Broken-hearted

Jeff and I had the chance to be part of an amazing local event last month. Community enCompass puts on the Taste and See each year which is a progressive dinner tour in the core City of Muskegon...

New, Business, Personal, Restaurant StartupShawn ChurchOctober 21, 2018restaurantstartup, restaurantstory, lovemuskegon, downtownmuskegon, becomingbruschetta, iheartmuskegon, muskegonrocks, architecture, salvagedbeauty, belocalsupportlocal, knowyourfarmer, downtown, lovedowntown, #restaurantstartup, blessed, costolutoflorentinotomatoes, farmerandyrocks, downtownmuskegonnow, bruschetta, Radicalneighborliness, loveyourneighbor, feedthepeople, iheartbasil, muskegonhistory, heirloomtomatoes, nipote, restoration, Businessoffamily, nipotesresearch, nipotes, slowdowntogofast, heritagetomatoes, revitalize, nipoteswife, firedoor, restaurant, ilovemuskegon, Heartofthecity, emergentstrategy, Wearedowntownmuskegon, communityencompass, watchusgomuskegon, Heartofthehouse, localfood, Tasteandsee, Family, newblogger, nipotespractice, eatlocal, nipotesitaliankitchen, welovedowntown Comments

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Our lead designer says that the bigger the drawings get the closer we are to breaking ground, so we must be getting close!

More than Dirt...

So you may have wondered what in the heck we’ve been doing since we shared the first renderings. Is that crazy container building really coming to downtown?

The Rush

Opening a restaurant is exciting, it’s scary and like a restaurant itself it’s filled with rushes and lulls. The last couple of weeks we have had lots of momentum, some celebrations and even a little pasta.

We Can’t Contain It!

When we realized we had to tear down the building and start from scratch we knew we had an opportunity to do something incredibly unique and exciting. We wanted to do something that not only stood out but also had a small footprint.

Downtown-the heart of the city

I love downtown, there’s a reason when we looked for a brick and mortar we chose to be downtown, to invest in and to be a part of its resurgence...

What’s in a name?

We’ve had lots of questions about the name of the restaurant but I thought instead of just telling you what it means I’d give you the story behind it.

Here's to new beginnings

Well friends we are making progress and sometime next week the building will come down. Despite the fact that the building is in shambles and lacks a foundation it makes me a little sad. This building, in its glory was someone else’s new beginning.

Shawn ChurchMarch 25, 2018nipotes, newblogger, containerarchitecture, watchmuskegon, nipoteswife, downtownmuskegonnow, nipotesitaliankitchen, cantcontainit, restaurantstartup, newbeginnings, dodgeComment

A bottle of red by headlamp

Lots of people think about opening a restaurant, some even attempt it and a rare few find success. With odds like that it can be difficult to try but last fall my incredibly brave husband took a leap of faith and quit his job to become a restaurateur...without an actual restaurant, or even a building.

Shawn ChurchMarch 16, 2018restaurant, cantcontainit, nipotes, restaurantstartup, gomkg, eatlogal, containerarchitecture, restaurateur, nipoteswife, nipotesitaliankitchen, cheeselady, refosco, downtownmuskegonnow, watchmuskegon Comments

NIPOTE'S WIFE