GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Many of the business owners in the downtown area are taking additional safety precautions as reports of violent incidents increase.
On Saturday, police were called after two women were assaulted in separate attacks, both struck with a piece of rebar.
Investigators say they found one victim in the area of Fountain and Ionia, and another near Ottawa and Monroe Center.
A suspect initially fled the area before police arrived, but was quickly taken into custody.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the suspect was dealing with mental health issues.
“It’s a safe city, but it is a city, and like any downtown area, there is going to be some issues,” Chief Winstrom said. “We’re going to do what we can about it, but certainly any help we can get from the businesses, and from the residents here is helpful.”
Chief Winstrom told FOX 17 on Tuesday that they have not seen a statistical increase in the number of calls for assaults or public disturbances downtown in recent months, but not every call gets reported to police.
“The city has grown, and with the growing city, there's growing problems,” said Bill Bennett, the longtime owner and operator of Elliott’s Newsstand, now located inside the McKay Tower. “It used to be, everybody come down here and complain about parking.”
On Tuesday, FOX 17 spoke to about a dozen downtown businesses, most wanting to speak off-camera.
Everyone we spoke to said they have seen an increase in aggressive or violent individuals inside and around their businesses.
Several have hired extra security personnel and installed additional cameras.
“I’ve never thought about doing this, but I did go get a CPL license. I have not activated it yet, but I do have a certificate where I can activate it,” Bennett said Tuesday. “It should never come to this for downtown retail, should never come to this.”
While Bennett has no plans of walking away from his business in the near future, another downtown location directly cited safety concerns when they announced their closure on November 4.
The Ambiance GR Kitchen & Lounge on Pearlopened its doors on New Year's Eve 2021.
Their post said, in part, “the profound truth is that the business climate and the persistent safety issues that have increased all over downtown, in an unprecedented way, has caused us to reexamine our hefty ongoing investment in this establishment. Despite investing approximately 6 figures in security costs into 2 well respected licensed and bonded expert firms (who did an outstanding job for us).
"Inside Ambiance we had minimal problems as we employed some of West Michigan's best security teams to protect patrons. However, the unwanted loitering and elements that galvanized on public streets and sidewalks as well as in the neighborhood surrounding, made it untenable for us to continue our operation.”
The business had been working extensively with the city to address safety concerns in the area.
A Grand Rapids city spokesperson said after their announcement, “We are very disappointed to hear Ambiance will be closing. The City has invested a great deal of time and energy in an effort to make this unique establishment a success and increase the diversity of our vibrant downtown.
"We’ve supported them financially through small business grants and our public safety staff have worked closely with them to address any security concerns. It’s unfortunate they’ll be leaving our central business district but we will continue our efforts to support BIPOC entrepreneurs to make downtown an inviting destination to all Grand Rapidians to live, work, and play.”
