Folks in Grand Rapids' Creston neighborhood used to walk to Frosty Boy on the corner of Ann St. and Plainfield Avenue for ice cream on a hot summer day. The property sat vacant for years, but now families can gather once again for a stroll down to Bros BBQ & Ice Cream for a pulled pork sandwich and a soft serve cone for dessert.
Longtime friends Andrew Finn and Rob Carranco launched the new take-out eatery after many months of searching for "the perfect location," says Carranco, who used to go to Frosty Boy as a kid.
"People started coming for the ice cream, but now they're coming back for the food," Carranco says.
Carranco handles the front counter and the back office, but says that Finn, a veteran of the restaurant business, is the grill master.
"He loves to cook and I've been eating his food for years," Carranco says. "He was trying out a new rib recipe and I went over to his house to try it. I said, 'You've got to sell these things!'"
The duo leases the building and Carranco says they have invested over $30,000 in electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, lighting and a new bathroom. Finn works the business full-time; Carranco kept his day job as a welder and works the restaurant part-time.
Right now, the menu is takeout only, but Carranco says they'll offer delivery service in the fall. The menu features pork from Coopersville-based DeVries Meats. Besides pulled pork sandwiches, ribs and French fries, Bros offers tasty beef, pork or chicken mini sliders, rib tips, a quarter of a chicken, mozzarella sticks and sweet potato fries. The ice cream menu tantalizes with sundaes, shakes and floats.
"A lot of people walk down and bring their kids. I've heard a lot of comments like 'we've been waiting for something to come here,'" Carranco says. "Without the support of the community, we're nothing."
Hours are: Mon. thru Sat., 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. noon to 8 p.m.
Source: Rob Carranco, Bros BBQ & Ice Cream
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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