Jim Jabara, owner of the Green River Café in East Lansing, is opening a new location in the Lansing City Market. The Green River Café sells fair trade coffee and makes organic food made with local ingredients. Jabara says opening a location at the City Market will put him near other businesses that share his “local first” values.
“Being that we’re local, this allows us to be close to businesses like us that are local,” Jabara says.
The Downtown Lansing Green River Café will be on the northwest side of the City Market building. The 
new space has plenty of seating and a kitchen/counter area that’s twice the size of the East Lansing location.
The size of the kitchen and nearby access to the state’s 30,000 employees, legislators and lobbyists will allow Jabara to increase his catering business.
Jabara’s also excited about being close to Common Ground and the Downtown festivals, which he expects to boost his business.
The café will also have outdoor seating. Eventually, Jabara would like to add a brew pub.
“The Downtown will develop a lot in the next two years,” Jabara says, adding that he wants to be a part of the City Market’s pending move to the river.
The proposed $24 million City Market project would put the City Market closer to the riverfront and add two six-story, 120,000 square foot office buildings and two residential towers near the Lansing Lugnuts baseball stadium, Oldsmobile Park.
“It’s a pretty good second location in an area that’s growing and that really wants us to be here,” Jabara says.
Source: Jim Jabara, Green River Café
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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