BYRON TOWNSHIP, MI — A new restaurant and Italian grocery store has opened at Tanger Outlets in Byron Township.

Russo Ristorante-Mercato, launched by John Russo, whose family has operated Italian restaurants and markets in the Grand Rapids area since 1905, offers a full restaurant, with seating for 100 people, as well as a market specializing in Italian meats, cheeses, sausages and wine.

“It’s in our blood,” Russo said of the business. “This has been a goal of my children and grandchildren, who also grew up in the business. We just wanted to carry on what we started.”

The restaurant and market offers a selection of dine-in options, including five pizzas, antipasto appetizers, sandwiches, pastas, and main courses that include steak, lamb, fish and scallops. “We work with a lot of good, sustainable growers and artisans and producers,” Russo said. “We try to do things as organic and sustainable as possible.”

The Russo family has operated a host of Italian markets and restaurants around the Grand Rapids area for more than a century.

Giovanni B. Russo founded GB Russo & Son in 1905 in East Grand Rapids at Reeds Lake. In 1908, he purchased the building in the 700 block of S. Division Ave. in Grand Rapids, the heart of what then was called “Little Italy.”

John Russo said the last business he operated before his new venture, Russo Ristorante-Mercato, was the Carrettino Italian Market. He opened that store at the Town & Country Shopping Center in 2009. It closed in 2014.

Russo is the brother of Phil and Dave Russo, the former operators of G.B. Russo & Son International Grocery at 2770 29th St SE. G.B. Russo & Son International Grocery closed in 2019.

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