ZEELAND — After nearly 11 months of conversations and decisions, Community Restaurant has announced it will rebuild — with construction to begin in late April and hopefully completed by the end of the year.
The decades-old restaurant was declared a total loss in mid-April following an overnight fire.
While Owner Barry Elzinga acknowledged that it has been a roller coaster the past year, he said that even as he watched the building burn, he knew he was going to rebuild.
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“The rebuild is on for Community Restaurant,” Elzinga said. “We have been working on it for almost eleven months since the fire. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome and I am happy to announce that we are moving forward.”
The restaurant was owned and operated by Lyle Van Klompenberyg for years before his son, Korde, purchased the business with Elzinga in 2020. More recently, Elzinga has taken over sole ownership of the restaurant.
“This restaurant has been a part of my family for years,” Elzinga said. “My brothers and sisters were working there in the '70s and '80s and my mom worked there, too. I started there in 1985.”
As Elzinga and his construction team worked to prepare the rebuild, they appeared before the Zeeland Planning Commission and Zeeland City Council several times to obtain the proper approvals to get started.
Elzinga said they are able to reuse the foundation — a move that saves significant money — and the building will be roughly 4,350 square feet and located at the same location as before: 421 E. Main Ave.
As part of the process, the property was ultimately rezoned from C-1, Neighborhood Shopping District, to C-2, Central Business District, a request Zeeland City Council approved Monday, Dec. 19.
“The hardest part has been not being able to get out there to start building it honestly,” Elzinga said. “I’m not really one to sit around and I really want to work and not being able to work and serve people for so long has been the hardest part for me.”
As for the restaurant, Elzinga said the menu will be similar to what it was before featuring the salad bar and other local favorites and the building will include different elements from before — including a front dining room that can be closed off for private parties, the main dining room area and a large back table that locals refer to as the “table of knowledge.”
“In the past six months, we didn’t know for sure if this was going to work out and be possible but in the past week or so, everything has come into focus and we are ready to go,” Elzinga said.