Walk through the doors of Kingma’s Market on Plainfield Avenue in Grand Rapids, and the first thing you notice is the smell: warm bread, sliced dill pickles, and smoked turkey drifting from the deli. The sandwich board is busy, the slicer hums, and a line of regulars trades tips like stock pickers.
At Kingma’s Market, pretzel buns sit stacked beside loaves from local bakers, and you’ll hear someone ask for “extra giardiniera, please” like it’s a password. If you think you know deli sandwiches, wait until you watch one built here, layer by precise layer.
The Lunch Rush That Teaches Patience
Stand by the deli at 12:15 and you will feel the room tighten. The slicer ticks in brisk strokes while someone scoops potato salad into a compostable cup, tapping twice to level it.
A bell chimes for a pickup order and a staffer calls a name that half the line recognizes with a laugh…