Pizza Hut returns to Grand Rapids' Eastown, serves up a slice with local flair

Deborah Johnson Wood

Pizza Hut has returned to Grand Rapids' Eastown business district after an 18-month hiatus, this time with a $500,000 investment in a 65-seat restaurant designed with Eastown's unique personality in mind. The international pizza chain moved out of its former Lake Drive location in October 2008 when the landlords wanted to expand their own restaurant, Bombay Cuisine.

Pizza Hut reopened this week at 1433 Wealthy St. SE, a once-vacant storefront next to Billy's.

"It took us this long to find a new location because we wanted to add a dining room," says Brian Cronkrite, vice president of marketing for St. Joseph-based Trigo Hospitality, the Pizza Hut franchisee. "We looked for an architectural design to celebrate the fact that Eastown is very unique and different; we didn't want the place to look like a cookie-cutter restaurant."

The eclectic décor mixes corrugated metal wainscoting, galvanized metal tabletops, oak tabletops and benches with historic photos of Eastown in the '50s and '60s and four flat-screen TVs. The place also offers wireless Internet access and a corner with a leather couch and chairs for casual dining.

During construction, workers removed three separate drop ceilings. Cronkrite says a pleasant surprise was finding that someone recycled the wood joists from the building's original foundation into ceiling beams years ago.

Besides pizza, salads, soups and sandwiches, the eatery also has Pizza Hut's Wing Street menu of chicken wings and specialty sauces. And ice cream lovers can indulge in sundaes and root beer floats.

The restaurant brings 50 jobs to the business district. Store hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Monday – Thursday, closing at 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

"Although we bring a national brand, we have brought it to the neighborhood in a way that celebrates the Eastown neighborhood," Cronkrite says. "We certainly did not drop in here with something garish and plastic that would offend the neighborhood."

Source: Brian Cronkrite, Trigo Hospitality

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].