Notice anything different on the main drag?
A misplaced Taco Bell? And where did B-Tan move to?
And Burger — can't accuse them of false advertising.
Like almost every year, the storefronts along Grand River Avenue have changed as new businesses opened in the summer and others closed their doors permanently.
"The turnaround is really fairly typical," said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing's economic development administrator. "The difference in the downtown is it's more visible."
Several new restaurants opened in the downtown area, including Potbelly Sandwich Works and Burger, located on Grand River Avenue, and Green River Cafe located on M.A.C. Avenue. Other businesses — B-Tan and Taco Bell — switched sites along the avenue.
Other businesses were nixed from the landscape — at least for now.
The Grand Wazoo, a store that sold used and new CDs, movies and memorabilia, is gone because of profit decline. The Parlour on Campus, which had an old-fashioned diner atmosphere, also folded because of a decrease in foot traffic and profits.
But, all changes withstanding, the vacancy rate of about 5 percent is normal along Grand River Avenue's downtown stretch, Dempsey said.
There already is demand to fill in the empty storefront spaces, Dempsey said, although he declined to name any specific tenants.
Corporate-owned businesses have a tendency to outlast their competition because they market and find ways to bring in a wider demographic, Dempsey said, referring to such places as Noodles & Company and Chipotle Mexican Grill, which both joined Grand River Avenue in the past year.
"You see families. You see students," he said of customers who visit the downtown area. "You see a great mix."
Still, with rising rent prices, some business owners say it's a struggle to stay in the black.
Burger restaurant owner Britt Slocum saw two nearby businesses close, and when asked if he was nervous about his new restaurant's chances, Slocum said, "Nervous isn't the right word — excited nervousness."
Slocum, a Waverly resident, changed his restaurant to Burger on Aug. 19 from Jersey Giant Submarine Sandwiches Inc., which he opened about six years ago.
One of his friends scoffed at the title, Slocum said, warning sarcastically that it was not a very creative name.
"We sell two items really," Slocum said. "I could have called it 'Burger and Fries.'"
Some MSU students walking around downtown on Tuesday welcomed the changes.
"I come back, and it's like being in a new city," studio art senior Rachel Pulleyblank said. "I want to explore it a little."
Richard Trotman has also witnessed Grand River Avenue's transformation since moving to East Lansing in 2000 from Chicago.
"When I came here, the problem was they didn't have much," Trotman said. "Now, it's expanded a lot."
Although he lost his favorite bagel shop, Bagel-Fragel Deli, which closed in 2001, he said the continuous turnaround of downtown businesses is good for the city.
"If it won't evolve, it'll be the same town it once was," Trotman said.
Still, others argued that it was tough to say goodbye to their choice hangouts.
"If there's some place you look forward to, it's kind of upsetting," said agriscience senior Stacie Nelson.
Rahim Diallo lost his favorite place to do homework when The Parlour closed.
He is still looking for a new study spot.
"I'm bummed," the biomedical engineering junior said.
