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

Bienvenidos a Miami

Winter seemed to hit late and hard this year. It halted school, I think we had 14 snow days, and it slowed construction. It was a perfect opportunity to sneak away for a little research and a lot of sun...

Menu Creation, Restaurant Startup, Travel, Small businessShawn ChurchApril 4, 2019Charcoalmiami, restaurateur, restaurantstartup, newblogger, restaurantstory, sobewff, becomingnipotes, dreamingofitaly, arancini, nipotesresearch, throwbackthursday, italia, nipoteswife, drinklikeanitalian, macchiato, sunshine, Wynwoodyard, artinspiration, gelato, upcycle, basil, bruschetta, gnocchi, pasta, miami, lovethelocals, miaminights, miamieats, #charcoalmiami, South beach Miami, menudevelopment, spritzaperol, nipotesitaliankitchen, menudesign, aperol, aperolspritz, imtheprosecco, iloveitaly, #restaurantstartup, Giada, restaurant, cincin, charcoalmiami, chipsandspritz, italiancoffee, streetart, italianfood, buildingmenusandbuildings, mural, spritz, miamirestaurant, ravioli, nipotes, Flymkg, miamifood, graffitiart, jimmyhendrixComment

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

Partners in Hospitality

I’ve always felt that the restaurant business is rooted in hospitality and a passion to serve others. As we look for vendors, farms, shops to partner with these two things have been prevalent throughout West Michigan...

Business, Personal, Restaurant Startup, NewShawn ChurchDecember 9, 2018nipotes, uptowngirls, ecofriendly, startwithbeautifulfood, teamchurch, builtbyfamily, #gfs, Paella, chefstable, Friedbasil, watchmuskegon, uptown, lovedowntown, eatlocal, oliveoil, tastetesting, tastetestingfornipotes, restaurantstartup, gomkg, restaurantstory, waitingtobecomesomething, iheartbasil, prosciutto, salvagedbeauty, lovemuskegon, restaurantdesign, #restaurantstartup, Eatlocal, partnersmeeting, newblogger, nipotesresearch, family, downtownmuskegon, #gordonfoodservice, cantcontainit, localfood, Family, menudevelopment, nipotesitaliankitchen, #testkitchen, Businessoffamily, supportlocalbusiness, seasaltflakes, knowehereyourfoodcomesfrom, ilovemuskegon, Teamchurch, watchmuskegongo, firedoor, belocalsupportlocal, cheese, watchusgomuskegon, restaurateur, muskegon, iheartmuskegon, Wearedowntownmuskegon, nipote, restoration, myhubbyrocks, familymeal, buildingadream, coooksinthekitchen, feedthepeople, becomingnipotes, uptownmuskegon, local, nipotespractice, beautifuldoors, nipoteswife, restaurant, whatdietComment

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

Cooks in the Kitchen

Have you ever noticed that during a party people tend to congregate in the kitchen? It’s like there’s a magnet that pulls us there, into the space where everything happens.

Making our Mark at the National Restaurant Association Show

As we begin to look at interiors and plateware, I’ve been pouring through pictures of our trip to Chicago in May so I thought I’d share our experience with you.

Inspired Food in an Inspired Space

If you’ve been following our adventure you know that we are about to build the first full service restaurant constructed out of shipping containers in West Michigan. When we began thinking about upcycling our building we looked for others that had done the same thing.

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.

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.

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