A Spring Lake renaissance

Big changes are revamping the waterfront village

By Kelsey Smith

To say Spring Lake is going through a revitalization this year would be an understatement. With a new bed and breakfast, park renovation and a new development, this small village is keeping busy.

Kimberly Van Kampen, a real estate/property developer and seasonal resident who grew up in the Spring Lake area, has committed to several development projects.

These projects include Epicurean Village, Windermere House and The Lilley Mansion Bed and Breakfast. 

Epicurean Village

A 32,000-square-foot, three-story mixed-use development, Epicurean Village will have retail shops, a bakery, restaurant, salon, office space and residential areas. Chase Loreto, Kimberly Van Kampen’s resident creative marketing director, oversees the redevelopment’s branding initiatives.

Finn’s Chophouse & Speakeasy and Grand Finale Desserts & Pastries are included in the new Epicurean Village. Chef Justin Raha, owner and founder of Grand Finale Desserts & Pastries in Grand Haven, is opening up a location in the village.

Finn’s is owned and founded by husband-and-wife team, Finn and Roxy Treece, who also own and run Small Town Sandwich Shop in Spring Lake.

“It’s going to be a very classic, Chicago-style chophouse,” Finn Treece said. “We’ll have hand-cut steaks and seasonal, local, farm-fresh sides. We want to serve comfort food, but also create a dining experience where it’s more upscale. This is a place where you can celebrate an event — it’s an entire experience instead of just going out for a quick dinner.”

The idea of opening a chophouse and speakeasy came easy to the duo, Roxy Treece said.

“We’ve always been super drawn to the old-world, classic gangster style,” she said. “It’s something so different and not seen around here.”

Finn’s is planning on an early-December grand opening, and will also add a rooftop bar to its space next year — something that Spring Lake hasn’t seen before.

Epicurean Village
110 W. Savidge St.
epicureanvillage.com

Windermere House

Friends for over 30 years, Claudia Kerr Bryant and Kimberly Van Kampen decided to bring their passions to life. Windermere House will offer a blend of antique and designer home furnishings, gifts and interior design services to the Spring Lake area.

“It’s a consign and design shop that we envisioned to bring to the community,” Kerr Bryant said. “We’re shopping all over the state to bring in cool, one-of-a-kind items.”

Kerr Bryant partnered with Van Kampen to open Windermere House, and she will run the store with Kelly Schincariol, manager.

“It’s all super exciting,” Schincariol said. “We have a fabulous team — everyone’s fun and we’re all excited for the new development.”

DMC Design Custom Interiors will open its second location inside Windermere House (its first and main location is in Ada), and offer interior design services to clients.

“We’ll have a whole design center in the back,” said Dawn Marie Coe, founder and chief creative officer of DMC Design Custom Interiors. “I just knew that they wanted to have something unique and more high-end. And they appreciated our creative side, so it felt like it was the right partnership.”

Windermere House and DMC Design Custom Interiors plan to host a grand opening on Thanksgiving weekend.

Windermere House
304 W. Savidge St.
windermerehousemi.com

The Lilley Mansion Bed and Breakfast

One visit to Spring Lake was all it took for Patrick Roggenbau and Robert Lopez to fall in love with the quaint village and begin a new endeavor. Longtime friends of Kimberly Van Kampen, Roggenbau and Lopez partnered with her to purchase, relocate and transform the historic Lilley Mansion into a bed and breakfast.

“We came to Spring Lake, invited by Kim, and we were just here for a short weekend,” Roggenbau said. “And we just saw the house on Savidge Street — it was an old, Victorian empty mansion and I just thought that it could be a perfect B&B.”

The Lilley Mansion Bed and Breakfast has four luxurious suites, is available for weddings, and offers an upscale breakfast with homemade, local, seasonal products. And the cool twist? Everything in the home is for sale.

“If you fall in love with a mirror or a light fixture or a table, you can buy it,” Roggenbau said. “I’ve been traveling a lot, and in all the places I’ve been, there’s something that catches my attention and I think it would be great to have at home — but I never ask anybody something like that. Everything we put in the house was selected by myself, Kim and Robert. It’s really a reflection of us and our lifestyle.”

Roggenbau and Lopez plan to officially open The Lilley Mansion Bed and Breakfast after Thanksgiving. 

The Lilley Mansion Bed and Breakfast
113 S. Division St.
616-843-6558
lilleymansion.com