Chef plans ‘Midwestern’ restaurant

Chef plans ‘Midwestern’ restaurant

A rendering of the Terra Square development in Hudsonville, which will feature a farmers market, restaurant, co-working space and community event space. Photo via hudsonville.org

An executive chef from Arizona is returning home to West Michigan with plans to open a new restaurant featuring “Midwestern staples.”

Nick Rusticus announced he’s coming home to Hudsonville to open Sonder Provisions in the city’s Terra Square development, at 3380 Chicago Dr.

Hudsonville released an RFP for the restaurant space within Terra Square in June.

The restaurant and Terra Square are both expected to open in June 2017.

Rusticus’ restaurant met all the criteria the development was seeking and received a unanimous recommendation by the review committee, said Michelle Fare, City of Hudsonville marketing coordinator and DDA director.

“It will offer a unique dining experience that will very strongly complement the farmers market,” Fare said.

Terra Square will feature a permanent home for the city’s farmers market, making it ideal for Rusticus’ concept.

Sonder Provisions will feature “Midwestern staples” for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with menus changing based on the seasonal availability of local ingredients.

“I just feel like the soil back home is incredible, the sweetness of a carrot, the depth and flavor or any of your root vegetables, the wild blueberries that I get on my uncle’s property,” he says in an article at AZCentral.com. “I have friends who are out on Lake Michigan every morning, bringing in king salmon. That’s the foundation of cooking and restaurants.”

The Terra Square development will also feature space for community events and co-working space for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Rusticus will leave his executive chef role at Second Story Liquor Bar in Scottsdale, Arizona next month to come back to open Sonder Provisions. The Arizona restaurant received a four-star review from The Arizona Republic in January.

“I’m all about helping people do their own thing,” says Tommy Plato, owner, Second Story Liquor Bar, in the AZCentral.com article. “It’s an opportunity he had to take, and I’m really happy for him.”