What did I tell you?! That building is cursed. Just months after one of Allegan's newest eateries opened, it appears the M-89 Bistro has already closed. On Monday a "For Rent' sign went up on the front door and as of this writing the phone number was disconnected. Is the building at 1256 Lincoln Road doomed to fail?

Having grown up in Allegan I have seen that building change hands numerous times. What was originally a bank (to the best of my knowledge) has been occupied by everything from an ice cream shop, a Chinese restaurant, a pasty shop, a Mexi-Cali restaurant, and most recently a bistro.

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Located along M-89, the building is in a highly visible and highly trafficked area as Lincoln Road/M-89 is one of the main thoroughfares as you're entering and exiting the city. So why do all the businesses that occupy that space seem to struggle so much?

Several residents have offered up their own theories in the past:

Joel Merfeld,

It's a pretty bad location. We passed by there for a long time and didn't even realize it was there or even open. Being that it's offset from the road in a weird place, they really need a better way to show they are there

Kerri Hardy,

The building seems way to small for a restaurant.

JB Vandewege,

Nothing makes it there. But bring back U.P. North!

At least from my own family's perspective, we were really rooting for Burrito Boss. The popular Mexi-Cali style restaurant probably had the longest run of any business I've seen there, having occupied the space from 2018 to January 2022. We truly thought Burrito Boss would be the ones to break the cycle, but sadly it wasn't meant to be.

The closing of M-89 Bistro was probably the fastest turnaround I've ever seen there as the restaurant only just opened for business in late February 2022. I never even got a chance to try their birria tacos! However, aside from the cursed location itself it seems that M-89 Bistro was doomed from the start as they had inconsistent hours and a lack of online presence-- it was hard to tell when they were even open!

I'll be keeping a close eye on this saga as I know this is not the final chapter for this doomed location. I'll be curious to see how long the building sits empty and what business dares to move in next. Stay tuned!

Allegan's Burrito Boss is Closed

Without warning, the restaurant at 1256 Lincoln Rd in Allegan closed its doors.