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

Finding Balance... Glass Balls

When I shared this blog with Jeff his first reaction was that it was pretty personal. I struggled with it as well. It’s not about the construction, menu or design but it is about one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in this adventure...

Small business, Business, Working Mom, Family, Balance, Restaurant Startup, Mom, PersonalShawn ChurchJanuary 27, 2019family, watchmuskegongo, begrateful, lovemuskegon, Flymkg, allthelove, blessed, bringyourkidtoworkday, firmfoundation, nipotes, luckywife, puremichigan, macchiato, restaurantstartup, Wearedowntownmuskegon, countyourblessings, newblogger, muskegon, thinkinsideofthebox, enjoythejourney, partnersmeeting, downtownmuskegon, nipotesitaliankitchen, airportnavigator, ilovemuskegon, belocalsupportlocal, Teamchurch, builtwithlove, watchusgomuskegon, gnocchi, myhubbyrocks, gomkg, teamchurch, shippingcontainer, Balance, watchmuskegon, muskegonmichigan, lovedowntown, Workingmom, builtbyfamily, iheartmuskegon, Family, containerarchitecture, Travelingmom, upcycle, nipoteswife, Firm foundation, uptown, inthekitchenwithkids, restaurantstory, uptownmuskegon, Businessoffamily, riccottagnocchi, shippingcontainerarchitecture, restaurateur, buildingadream, containerdesign, becomingnipotesComment

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

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!

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.

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.

NIPOTE'S WIFE