Displaying items by tag: small business

GRANDVILLE — The owners of vegetation management company Integrity Tree Services LLC have sold the business to its workers via a new employee stock ownership plan.

TRAVERSE CITY — Technology startup incubator 20Fathoms has received a $50,000 state grant to help fund a position that can provide additional support services in the tech entrepreneurial space.

GAINES TWP. — Joining forces with its largest competitor will give Mobile Defenders LLC an opportunity to become part of the dominant player in the wholesale mobile device repair parts market with increased economies of scale. 

GRAND RAPIDS — A new cocktail bar as well as a second location of Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits are set to open in the coming months in a former restaurant on Bridge Street NW where The Sovengard formerly operated. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Jessica Ann Tyson is taking the concept of a dog-friendly restaurant a step further by making canines her main customer.

GRAND RAPIDS — Amanda Rostic on Wednesday night passed out samples of tea she batch brewed the night before with a special ingredient she thinks will set her product apart from other brands: hops.

Eight West Michigan companies will each receive $25,000 grants under a state program that helps small manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 technologies.

GRAND RAPIDS — Longtime family-owned window covering retailer The Shade Shop Inc. has sold to another family-owned company in the Grand Rapids area.

MIDDLEVILLE — Backed by a group of business partners from West Michigan, The Botanical Co. is opening the first adult-use cannabis dispensary in the village of Middleville.

GRAND RAPIDS — Third-party data center maintenance provider Service Express Inc. has acquired the similarly focused, Beaverton, Ohio-based Sherlock Services Inc.

GRAND RAPIDS — After selling the church management software company he started in 2014, Jon VerLee decided to put his money into assisting other entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

GRAND RAPIDS — Royals is relaunching next week as a pizza restaurant after the former East Hills brunch spot underperformed since launching at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mobility app for people with disabilities is experiencing strong growth since launching commercial operations in West Michigan two months ago, and now is considering expanding its services to more communities and health care providers.

SPRING LAKE — A former Masonic Temple in Spring Lake that for more than a decade served as the home of concert venue Seven Steps Up is listed for $925,000 as the owners prepare to close and leave the state.

The state has begun the process to dispense nearly $237 million in federal funding to support small businesses.

GRAND RAPIDS — A husband and wife duo are moving their catering and personal chef business into the building formerly occupied by neighborhood staple Cherry Deli and Catering in Grand Rapids’ East Hills neighborhood. 

JetCo Federal President Sue Schweim Tellier has stepped into a new advocacy role after being named vice chairperson of the Small Business Association of Michigan’s (SBAM) executive committee.

GRAND RAPIDS — Dr. Paul King is returning to his hometown of Grand Rapids to open the state’s first Black-owned cannabis safety compliance facility.

Emily DeRitter formed Grand Rapids-based wedding coordination company The Best Day Details LLC in late 2019. 

While restaurant owners have warned of impending industry collapse — or at least uncertain operating conditions — of swiftly strengthening the state’s minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements, their workers have welcomed recent developments that they say ensure economic stability.

GRAND RAPIDS — Marketing agency 1 Bold Step LLC has purchased a small office building on Grand Rapids’ west side as company executives gradually return to more in-person work.

Heartland Home Services LLC, a private equity-backed HVAC, plumbing and electrical home service provider, has added a second Wisconsin-based firm to its portfolio of companies in recent months.

A Zeeland furniture startup that seeks to play into the growing home office trend has secured $1.5 million in capital from investors around Michigan.

GRAND RAPIDS — A Grand Rapids-based microlender has rebranded from Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women to Grow as it focuses on increasing the number of loans it deploys to small businesses. 

Chris Weavers is “terrified” by a court ruling handed down Tuesday that immediately raises wages for workers who rely on tips to offset their hourly wage.

GRAND RAPIDS — American Storage & Logistics is expanding its capabilities with acquisitions of two equipment suppliers based in the northeastern United States. 

SPRING LAKE — The owners of Seven Steps Up are closing their music venue after 11 years of hosting concerts and live performances in Spring Lake in an attempt to recoup mounting costs from an underperforming concert series they host for the city of Grand Haven.

GRAND RAPIDS — A group of about 30 people gathered on Monday to protest a new wedding and events venue at a former Grand Rapids church where owners have a policy against hosting same-sex marriages.

GRAND RAPIDS — An event rental and planning business plans to expand its offerings in Grand Rapids by opening a 2,200-square-foot event space in the city’s Roosevelt Park neighborhood. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Third-party data center maintenance provider Service Express Inc. has acquired two companies: Middleville-based cloud hosting provider ​​iInTheCloud LLC and Danbury, Conn.-based managed service provider iTech Solutions Group LLC.