LANSING, Mich. — As Anke Grace stands in her kitchen cooking, she's excited that she will soon be able to share a piece of home with Lansing.
“I had a restaurant for a little while in Germany," Grace said.
She moved from Germany to the United States in 2015.
“When I came over here, I started working in a factory," she said.
But after a while, she started dreaming of owning a German restaurant again, but the road to that dream was not easy.
“I tried three times. I wrote three different business plans because you need a business plan for the location you're looking for," she said.
She was looking to rent a place in downtown Lansing, but things didn't work out.
But with the help of different community partners, they were able to find a way to help. And now, she will be a part of the Macotta Club, a $4 million food incubator run by Downtown Lansing Inc.
“She is the perfect example of the type of participant that we want in this incubator program," Julie Reinhardt with Downtown Lansing Inc. said. “We were able to bring her into this program and give her a couple of years to build her clientele, build her brand at a lower, less risky pace.”
The Macotta Club is set open up inside of the Knapps Centre in 2024, and when it opens its door, many people will be able to get German cuisine thanks to Grace.
The restaurant will be called The German Place and will have a lot of yummy choices.
“Everything you can find at a German restaurants menu, you can find will find on our menu. Like a good steak, sour broughton, schnitzel in different varieties and German cheesecake.”
But the best part is she’ll be able to do what she loves with those she love the most, her daughter and son.
“Our restaurant will be a family business," Grace said. “I'm super excited about it. Because I want to give or safe a future for my children.”
The opportunity to join the Macotta Club is still open. They are still accepting applications, so if you are interested in making your food dreams come true, click here.
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