Jul 3, 2024
A first-time developer is working to open an authentic Cuban restaurant, along with 17 apartment units, in Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park neighborhood.
Juan Lopez said his Latino background and connection with the majority-hispanic community of Roosevelt Park drove his interest in developing a project in that area, he said.
Lopez, who is a contractor and owner of Exclusive Finish Solutions LLC, purchased 1516 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW for $210,000 in September 2021.
Lopez was nearly finished building out a restaurant in the space that his mother would own and operate when he realized adding apartment units to the building would be the “best option” for the project, he said. Lopez initially aimed to buy the building in 2019, but the whole project was delayed by financing hurdles that were exacerbated by COVID-19, he said.