Tulip City Dispatch

 Windmill Restaurant (228 W 8th Street, #220) is one of the most unique restaurants in downtown Holland.  As much as I've bitched and moaned about "lack of culture" in Downtown Holland , Windmill Restaurant is one of the few "cool" spots along 8th street.  They're not pretentious, they're not exclusionary, and they're one of the few spots that doesn't cater to wealthy patrons or to tourists. The restaurant opened in the 1940s, and maintains its original storefront.  It's a long, narrow building with a sit-down counter along one wall and booths for seating along the other, making it so it's possible for a small party (1-2 people) can sit at the counter with very little waiting.  One of the unique aspects of Windmille is that the space is so small and compact that there's no room for queuing inside the building.  The sign on the front door instructs diners to queue outside the building, so it's not unusual to see folks waiting outs...

 They're converting the old 5/3 Bank/Peoples State Bank building into a hotel .  We don't need another hotel in downtown.  Parking is already at a premium in downtown Holland, and the primary aim for The Vault Hotel is to share a parking lot with Pillar Church .  Since I've been hanging around Downtown Holland starting around 2012, parking has become increasingly convoluted and inconvenient, especially for downtown employees.  BUT - parking is not my issue here. As mentioned in a previous entry , Downtown Holland has no culture.  For being a town whose primary tourist draw is Tulip Time and our Dutch heritage , there sure aren't many restaurants that offer traditional Dutch fare...There's a few objects here or there, DeBoer's on the north side offers their "Taste Of The Old Country" lunch sampler ; Big Lake Brewing offers Dutch  bitterballen  (a drinking/pub snack) ; Wooden Shoe Restaurant offers  Balkenbrij (scrapple) ; but that' about it....