LANSING, Mich. — Maurice Summerville grew up on Lansing’s west side and is now the proud owner of a convenience store in the same neighborhood.
It's not his first business venture. He opened up Mo’s Wings downtown back in 2019 just before the pandemic hit, but had to close down.
But Summerville found a small building at 122 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and opened up the Westside Convenience Store back in March.
This isn’t your typical party store, it's got a little bit of an edge, offering hot food alongside the regular convenience store fare.
“Smothered potatoes is one of our favorite items, deep fried pork chops, nachos. We’ve got homemade Kool-Aid. Everything is homemade. Mac and cheese,” said Summerville.
He’s planning to rebrand his convenience store into Westside Convenience and Mo’s Wings soon.
But first he has to find a couple of employees to staff the kitchen.
Summerville says says he’s proud to be in the community. He grew up on the city’s west side, played basketball at Sexton high school and has raised his family here .
He always admired other business owners in his neighborhood but looked for the right opportunity to open up a place of his own.
“There was a gentleman named Mr. Calhou. He was a family friend but also had a business in this area. That was the place we always came to to play video games and buy hot food,” Sumerville said.
The pandemic has been rough on business, he says, noting how important local support is to keep a business thriving.
“I think its important that the community supports local businesses because without that support we can’t sustain ourselves.”
The Westside Convenience Store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.
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