KALAMAZOO, MI — From the day she opened Food Dance nearly 28 years ago, Julie Stanley was all about supporting local farmers and local artists.
Now, the art that has filled the recently closed Kalamazoo restaurant, since it moved to the corner of East Michigan Avenue and South Pitcher Street in 2007, is being prepared for sale.
From copper lampshades created by Mark Smutek that hung above the tables to paintings from Conrad Kaufman, watercolors from Becki Bolton and an artistic collage by Elizabeth King to a pair of granite drink rails, everything artistic that was a part of Food Dance’s history — and hasn’t already been claimed — will hit the market on fooddance.net at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 17.
Related: Kalamazoo Farmers Market returns home after multi-million dollar renovation
The proceeds, naturally, will go to the PFC Farmers Market in Kalamazoo. The Peoples Food Co-op, which runs the market through a partnership with the city, will also be inheriting the a couple of the 8-foot-tall corn stalks and the asparagus that reminded Food Dance patrons of the importance of farm fresh food for years.
“My dream had always been to buy the farmers market,” Stanley said, adding with a laugh that she is glad PFC agreed to a partnership agreement with the city in 2013 before that opportunity had presented itself.
In part, for the same reason that Food Dance is closing, Stanley is ready for retirement.
Still, watching Kaufman take down his cornfield piece by piece that he had spent three months creating when Food Dance moved into the building, Stanley said on Friday, it was painful to watch.
“We had so many people asking in the end what would happen to them all. I would prefer they end up in a museum so they would be visible to the world. It’s beautiful art,” she said.
Related: A pioneer in farm-to-table dining in Kalamazoo, Food Dance owner readies for final dance
The past few weeks have been emotional for Stanley, who dedicated three decades of her life to bring farm-to-table fare to Kalamazoo.
“I’m flattered and overwhelmed at the same time,” Stanley said of the support she has received since announcing in late March that the restaurant would close for good in early April. “Those last three weeks we were open, after I made the announcement, were the busiest we’ve ever been.
“I’m tired.”
Stanley hopes to see other restaurants follow suit in the future, and see more “true” farm-to-table restaurants come into the area. She’s a firm believer that is how people should live, not because it is trendy, but because it is important to know what we are eating and to support local farmers.
While most of, if not all of the art, is expected to sell quickly once the sale goes live Tuesday morning, the other restaurant items — from mixers, to ovens, to prep tables, shelves, sinks and an assortment of cookware and serving dishes — is all headed to an online auction at biddergy.com.
Items can be viewed now at the above link and be viewed in person at the restaurant, at 401 E. Michigan Ave., from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Monday, May 23. The auction will go live at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 24 and run until 8 p.m. that night. Auction items must be picked up either Thursday, May 26 or Friday, May 27.
Also on MLive:
Larry J. Bell Library Foundation to purchase Kalamazoo’s Food Dance building
Food Dance was ‘ahead of its time’ bringing farm-to-table fare to Kalamazoo, longtime patrons say
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