Harry’s Place is a family owned business that has stood tall in Lansing’s west side neighborhood for decades.
“We opened up in 1921,” said manager Matthew Bates.
Bates said over the years the business has had good times filled with great people.
“From the customers, the employees, everybody, I get to know everybody and it’s really a bright spot,” he said.
But there were also some not so good times. Like the closing of GM’s fisher body plant, which was right across the street. With with nearly 5,000 employees gone from the plant, Bates said Harry’s place lost customers and employees
“We only had like 3 or 4 employees and that went down from like 20,” Bates said.
Shortly, after the shut down, GM demolished the plant’s building in 2007 and the 57 acre site has been vacant ever since. But now, it may get a second chance at life, after Lansing secured some funding from the state.
“We were granted $19 million to clean up the site where we could have someone come in and do something exciting,” said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor.