In an announcement that's sure to be a disappointment for long-time residents of Kalamazoo, Food Dance has announced that they are shutting their doors.

For those who don't know, Food Dance is a farm-to-table type of restaurant that focused on creating hand-crafted dishes with locally sourced food and sustainably raised meats and fish. Aside from their restaurant, they also have a little market where you can pick up pies, jams, and other delectable goodies.

Over the past couple of years, like many local restaurants, Food Dance had closed down due to lack of business but, were able to eventually open back up. In fact, the owner, Julie, had said that she was retiring in 2021 but seemed to change her mind when it was announced that Food Dance would remain open:

But, nearly one year later, the situation has changed.

On Facebook, Food Dance made a long and heartfelt post that read, in part,

To our Community, I want you to hear it from me, directly... Food Dance will be closing; Saturday, April, 9th will be our last day of service. I am ready to retire and enjoy life outside a restaurant. That may sound simple, but the decision to close Food Dance has been anything but simple. I care (and worry) about the staff, our loyal farmers, vendors, and about the community. I find peace in knowing that for the last 28 years Food Dance has been a cornerstone in Kalamazoo and helped to create space for many local food businesses, helped support the growth of our local food system, and helped build an awareness of “eating well” in the community.

The post, which you can see here, was made by Julie who went on to say that she was honored to be a part of Kalamazoo and that she and the staff appreciate all the support.

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So, What Now?

As the post says, their last day will be April 9th. Until then, Julie is encouraging locals to stop in to snag some of the incredibly delicious food that Food Dance is known for (those jams, though!).

While the post didn't indicate this, I'm sure the staff and Julie would love to hear how you've cherished Food Dance and the memories you've made with friends and family over the years.


Working in a restaurant is exhausting enough let alone owning and successfully operating one for nearly 30 years in one location. While the community will miss this establishment, I hope we can all band together to wish Julie a happy retirement. Cheers!

Since this was just announced yesterday (3/22) there's, obviously, no word on what or when another restaurant will take its place. After all, those are pretty big shoes to fill. However, the people of Kalamazoo seem to have some very...passionate opinions on what food establishments need to come to town:

The Top 10 Restaurants People Want To Come To Kalamazoo Right Now

I asked our audience what restaurants they'd like to see make it over to Kalamazoo and I was honestly caught off guard by some of the answers. Over 300 people gave suggestions...here were the Top 10:

10 Southwest Michigan Small Town Restaurants You NEED To Visit

The nice thing about all these locations is that they'll take no more than an hour to get to and it's also a good chance to explore Southwest Michigan and do something off the beaten path. Here are 10 small town restaurants near us that you seriously need to check out:

 

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