Dr. Lauren Hall-Tate inherited her dental practice above Noodles & Company.

After another dentist retired, she bought East Lansing Dental Associates and got the patients that came with it.

She left her position as a dentist for the Michigan Department of Corrections to take over the small offices above Grand River Avenue. The practice, 201 1/2 E. Grand River Ave., includes MSU students — 15 percent of the clientele.

But some of her patients have trouble getting to the office.

"We're having some issues with some of the older patients getting up the stairs," Hall-Tate said. "Some (patients) have had to find new doctors, or they may not come as often, or (not at all) in the winter."

But Hall-Tate doesn't mind being upstairs because it's quiet and she's the only business in the upstairs of the building.

After her lease is up in a few years, she plans to move to a first-floor location.

"I wouldn't mind staying up here if I had an elevator," Hall-Tate said. "I would be happy to stay up here forever as long as my patients can get up here."