KPOT arrives, longtime retailer closes: What we know about Lansing-area openings, closings in May
Two new restaurants and one retailer opened their doors in Greater Lansing in May. Also this month the area lost a longtime store and Chinese restaurant.
Among the additions is a brewery in Owosso that offers site-brewed craft beer, sandwiches and flatbread pizzas; Lansing's first KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot location; the area's fifth Panda Express and Sylvia’s Sudsery, a retailer previously housed in Downtown Lansing Inc.'s Middle Village.
Here's a look at what opened and closed around the area in the last month.
Openings
Barrister Brewing Co.
Where: 902 W. Main St., Owosso
The details: The brewery and restaurant opened on May 6, offering its house-made craft beers, ciders and seltzers. The menu features appetizers, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, salads and tacos. According to the brewery's website, staff bake the brewery's rolls, pretzels and naan bread on-site. Learn more online at www.barristerbrewingco.com.
KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot
Where: 5924 W. Saginaw Hwy., Delta Township
The details: The Lansing area has been waiting for its first KPOT location to open since last spring when the Korean barbecue and hot pot chain leased the former Buddy's Pizza, a 6,350-square-foot space that had been vacant since the pizzeria closed its doors in fall 2022. The restaurant opened on May 20 serving hot pot, described on the restaurant's website as "a beloved culinary tradition due to its communal dining experience where friends and family gather around a simmering pot of broth, cooking and sharing a variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, and noodles."
The location is the fourth in the chain to open in Michigan. The business also operates restaurants in Grand Rapids, Novi and Sterling Heights. Learn more online at www.thekpot.com.
Panda Express
Where: 2750 Preyde Blvd., Lansing Township
The details: The 2,225-square-foot restaurant near the corner of Preyde Boulevard and Lake Lansing Road is the chain's fifth Lansing-area location. It opened this week. The company has more than 2,000 locations worldwide. Learn more or order online at www.www.pandaexpress.com.
Slyvia’s Sudsery
Where: 223 S. Washington Square, Lansing
The details: Sylvia’s Sudsery celebrated the grand opening of its first stand-alone storefront on May 18, two years after owner Danielle Hastings first opened her business in Middle Village, a small business incubator offering shared space downtown for several entrepreneurs.
The store, which sells soaps, bath bombs, shower steamers and room sprays, opened in a 2,000-square-foot space previously home to Linn & Owen Jewelers, which closed in April after more than a century in business.
Learn more about Sylvia’s Sudsery on Facebook by searching "Sylvia’s Sudsery, LLC."
Closings
Canton
Where: 6420 W. St Joseph Hwy., Delta Township
The details: Owner Chan Fai Chin opened Canton, a takeout Chinese restaurant, in 1997. The 875-square-foot business has been family-run for 27 years, he said.
"I'm retiring," Chin said this week. The restaurant is expected to close permanently by the end of May, he said.
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Foxhole PX Store
Where: 3128 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Lansing
The details: The military surplus retailer, a mainstay in the area for more than a century, closed earlier this month. Owners Kelly and Tim Carpenter retired, 35 years after they bought it from previous owner Dennis Dudley, in the late 1980s. The store sold military uniforms, clothing, helmets, flags, hats, gloves, books, and camping and hunting gear. Many of the thousands of items sold were from past conflicts, including World War I and WWII, and the Vietnam War.
Kelly Carpenter, 63, said running the business was "a great thing" for their family. Both the couple's children and several of their grandchildren worked there over the years, she said.
Tim Carpenter, 73, said health issues he's been dealing with for several years prompted the decision to close the store.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at [email protected]. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: What we know about Lansing-area restaurants, retailers that opened or closed in May
