1-stop shopping in Studio 28's future?

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) - Mix a few rumors, an economy in the tank, and a lot of "space available" signs along the road, and it's easy to see why local businesses are anxious and more than a little frustrated just over a week after the closing of Studio 28.

"We heard Walmart. We heard Meijer. No one's really saying. We don't know," said Tony Vitale, whose brother owns Frankie V's, next door to the now-closed multiplex.

Despite statements by a Meijer spokesman that the company has no current plans to purchase the Studio 28 site, 24 Hour News 8 confirmed through Studio 28's owners the theater company is talking to Meijer.

But they've also talked to other so-called big box retailers, including Walmart.

Celebration Cinema spokesman Steve Van Wagoner said it's all talk right now. No sale has been made.

Is Meijer considering moving the store at 28th and Kalamazoo Avenue?

Grand Rapids planning commission members recently voted down a plan to allow the retailer to rebuild that store.

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell said Meijer officials told him the company fully intends to stay at 28th and Kalamazoo. "There are a lot of businesses around here who have closed down. You have a lot of vacant buildings. So, hopefully something that will draw people."

He won't get any argument from Wyoming City officials. City planners are considering putting a sort of mission statement together on redeveloping the Studio 28 site.

The statement would provide a guide to what city officials would like to see, something that would complement the 28th Street business corridor.

"We'd really like to see maybe a big Meijer or a shopping center," Vitale said. "Something that's going to draw people back to this area."