Our Building
In 2014, the Cooks purchased the buildings at 409 & 411 W. Main for a mere $10,500 apiece. The buildings, having sat empty since 1998, were in a deteriorated state but the Cook sisters immediately saw their potential. They’re quick to let people know that the buildings are the only two in all of downtown Ionia whose facades remain virtually unchanged.
In 1881, J.V. Consul out of Grand Haven was commissioned by Peter Hackett to begin construction on the buildings at 407 & 409 W. Main. The Ionia Produce Co. was the first known business on the service-side of the building, followed by Cut Rate Clothing Co. at the turn of the 20th century. By 1917, Hackett’s Farm Implements had found its home at 407 (current day 409 W. Main) and remained in operation until L & D Hardware opened its doors in the early 1950s. The building housed L & D Hardware until 1998. Notably, the Lalleys (the “L” of L & D Hardware) are the direct descendants of Peter Hackett, who commissioned the buildings in 1881- the Hackett family continued to pass the buildings and businesses down generation after generation. Thus, the Cooks are the second family to own the buildings in their near 150-year existence.
The first recorded history of the dining-side of the building is from 1891 with Graff & Whorley Meat Market. Although the business itself changed hands numerous times, it remained a meat market until the mid-1950s when Richardson Sewing Machine Sales, A-B Mattress Co. and Home Heating Co. all operated out of the building simultaneously. In 1958, L & D Hardware expanded by carving out an interior walkway between the buildings which is when the service side became L & D Appliance Center.
The entire Cook family share a keen interest in local history, particularly that of downtown Ionia. Moreover, the Cooks are accustomed to purchasing dilapidated buildings on the cheap and restoring them as much as possible to their original glory. The entire project took nearly 5 years but the sisters moved into the second-level of the building in 2016 and officially opened up shop on the commercial level on August 15, 2019.