"There's the dirty soda shop and slime shop. These are things that 10 years ago didn't exist." Josh Poag, president and CEO of Poag Shopping Centers, said that in an interview WOOD TV published Oct. 1 about the Grandville mall his company bought in 2024. He was describing the tenants. The same logic explains why RiverTown is changing in some places and holding still in others.
Poag's company can sign leases, renovate the theater it helped pay for, and put events on the calendar. It can't knock down the parking deck by the Barnes & Noble without approval from every anchor. It also doesn't own the former Macy's, Younkers or Sears buildings. So this fall and winter, nearly everything new at 3700 Rivertown Parkway is on the inside: storefronts along the corridors, a remodeled cinema, and free family events.
Celebration Cinema came first
The first big investment after the 2024 purchase was the movie theater. The company started with $1.3 million for landscaping and parking lot repairs. Then it made what Poag called "a large capital allocation" to help renovate Celebration Cinema, which he said "had run its course." His reasoning was that theaters draw a lot of people and help define the whole property.
The first phase redid the auditoriums and added heated recliners, renovated hallways and bathrooms, and a new C Premium auditorium. Celebration says C Premium has a 4K laser projector, Dolby Atmos sound and heated luxury recliners. Phase two added an arcade and Oscar's Restaurant & Bar, which held its grand opening April 27.
Oscar's matters even if you don't go to the movies. The restaurant says it's open to mall visitors without a ticket. If you do have a ticket, you can order from your seat and have it brought to you. The menu is built around shareable food: pretzel bites, wings, loaded nachos, quesadillas, taco platters, burgers and personal pizzas, plus cocktails, beer and wine. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Before April, RiverTown didn't have a sit-down bar inside the building that was open after a late show.
Poag says the theater is now "doing exceptionally well." He also gave a number for the whole mall. Over the last 90 days, traffic was up 2% compared with the same period last year. On roughly 4.5 million visitors a year, he estimates that's about 90,000 more people. Those are the owner's own figures. They're also the reason he gives for the leasing that followed.
Eleven leases, and what they have in common
On Sept. 28, RiverTown announced 11 new tenants. Together the leases cover 33,208 square feet. For comparison, that's a fraction of what a single department store occupies. The space is spread across many small storefronts, and several are businesses you go to for something to do as much as something to buy.
| Tenant | What it is | Timing announced |
|---|---|---|
| Throw It Back Dirty Soda | Michigan-based mobile soda bar's first retail shop; also hosts parties | Opened in August |
| MooZoo Slime Shop | Handmade slime plus a make-your-own "slime bar" | Grand opening Oct. 17 |
| Sweet Kisses Bakery | Treats and custom cakes | Opens Nov. 15 |
| Summit Comics & Games | Lansing shop's second location: comics, board games, trading cards | Fall |
| Katie's Heart & Home | Coopersville Christmas store's second location | Fall |
| Kako Claw | Claw-machine arcade with a trade-up prize program | Fall |
| Addiour Perfume | Fragrance | Fall |
| Ventrora Perfume | Fragrance | Fall |
| Cell Repair Xpert | Moving from a mall kiosk to a full storefront | Fall |
| Snack'd | Snacks and drinks from more than 40 countries | Winter |
| JD Sports | Sneakers, streetwear, athletic apparel | Winter |
Several of these have local roots. Throw It Back has been a mobile dirty soda bar around Michigan, and RiverTown is its first permanent shop. Summit Comics and Games is based in Lansing. Katie's Heart & Home comes from Coopersville and sells Christmas decor, gifts and subscription boxes all year. According to its store finder, Cell Repair Xpert's RiverTown location is its first in West Michigan.
This mix fits Poag's strategy. He described events and experiences as the way to bring in families and kids and keep traffic growing, and he said more leases are in the pipeline. A slime bar, a claw arcade and a soda shop that books birthday parties are all places families go for an outing.
The pieces waiting on someone else
The changes you'd notice from the parking lot are moving more slowly.
The parking deck near Barnes & Noble is the clearest example. Poag told WOOD that when his team first drove the property, "we could feel the parking garage move underneath the car." After talking with structural engineers, the company decided to tear it down. As of Oct. 1, demolition still hadn't started. RiverTown has seven anchors: the department stores, Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble and Celebration. A change that big needs approval from all of them. WOOD reported in January 2025 that demolition was expected that spring or summer, so the schedule has already slipped once.
The plan now is surface parking plus two outlots for new restaurants. Poag hopes demolition can be finished in 2027. He said restaurants with "strong interest" are waiting on that work, and that if construction moves quickly, they could in theory open in 2028. So the next sit-down restaurants on the RiverTown property are probably at least two years away. That makes Oscar's the main new restaurant on the property for now.
The empty anchor buildings are a separate question. Macy's at RiverTown closed at the end of March 2026. Poag named the former Macy's, Younkers and Sears sites as the three that could make sense for housing someday. His company owns none of them. One buyer owns both the Younkers and Macy's buildings, and Poag said that owner decides what happens there. He said Poag Shopping Centers hasn't been able to agree on a workable price for the Sears site. He called residential "still part of the vision" but said there are no concrete plans.
Just off the mall property, Dave's Hot Chicken plans a location at 3148 44th St. SW, near Ivanrest Avenue. WOOD's July 30 report put the target near the end of 2026, likely sometime between October and December. No opening date has been confirmed since.
The fall calendar, mall and downtown together
RiverTown's free events now share the calendar with downtown Grandville's. Here are the dates through early December:
- Saturday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Fall Fest in Downtown Grandville. The Downtown Development Authority lists a Critter Barn visit, tractor pedal pulls that require registration, Cameron Zvara comedy and magic shows, live music from Rory McCallan and Alistair Beerens, and line dancing with Grandville Senior Neighbors. Scarecrow Contest voting runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Social District will be open. Games, inflatables, horse and wagon rides, a mechanical bull and axe throwing require tickets. Food vendors include Pizza Parliament, Pressed in Time, Neko Taiyaki, Tippy Cow and Littlefoot Coffee Roasters.
- Tuesday, Oct. 6: expected finish of the Chicago Drive repaving from Division to the west city limits. The City has kept at least one lane open in each direction since work started Sept. 5, so Fall Fest weekend still falls during the project.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: MooZoo Slime Shop grand opening at RiverTown.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m.: Boo Bash at RiverTown. It's free and includes trick-or-treating at participating stores, a DJ, and a costume contest with four categories: Best Kid Costume, Most Creative, Best Family/Group, and a Best in Boo grand prize. Anyone over 14 may not wear a mask that covers the face inside the mall. Candy is available while supplies last.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Harvest Fest at Grandville High School, hosted by the Grandville Band Boosters, with more than 100 vendors expected.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Sweet Kisses Bakery opens at RiverTown.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 1 to 3 p.m.: Jolly Holly Jamboree at RiverTown, with a kid-friendly DJ, stilt walkers, face painting, balloon artists, reindeer games, ornament-making, strolling magicians and Santa.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 8 p.m.: Christmas in the Commons downtown. The DDA has posted the date and time.
RiverTown hasn't posted its 2026 Santa photo schedule or holiday hours yet. Its holiday pages say to check back in November. The mall's site also still has older Fall Fest and Story Time with Santa pages from past years. Look for the 2026 dates on any listing before you plan around it.
On the deck, the outlots and the empty anchors, there's nothing new to report until approvals or ownership change. Inside, the storefronts on that list are scheduled to open one after another between now and winter.
If you're a Grandville homeowner curious about how changes like these at RiverTown Crossings might show up in your own home's value someday, Brandon Faber MI is glad to talk it through with you. There's no pressure and no timeline. Let's Connect.
