About Us

History, specifically America’s culinary history, is the central focus of our food and cocktail programs here at Scholar.  Situated downtown on Grand Rapids’ iconic red brick road at 11 Ionia SW, Scholar honors previous residents of the same address while striving to achieve our goal; to earn the title of the city’s best restaurant.

How it began:

With a successful career in banking, Michael Winks, Owner and Founder of Scholar Hospitality, sought to bring a superior dining experience to West Michigan. The vision is to enjoy delicious fine cuisine with professional, elevated service in a welcoming, comfortable space. Michael noted local options were limited to experience fine food in an environment that had a loungey, fun energy when celebrating a special occasion or just an evening out, yet professional and quiet to build relationships or host business clients.

Detailed pillar

Bringing the concept to life:

"Meeting Scholar’s operators, Taylor Boeschenstein, Executive Chef, and Alivia Boeschenstein, General Manager, was divinely poetic." ~ Michael Winks.

The opportunity to freely create a new restaurant concept of this magnitude was a dream Taylor and Alivia shared.

With Taylor and Alivia’s extensive experience and passion for delivering fine food with elevated hospitality, the early American dining concept and timeless design that became Scholar was brought to life.

The Scholars

Headshot of Taylor, Executive Chef

Taylor

Executive Chef / Operator

Alivia

General Manager / Operator

Headshot of Alivia, General Manager
Headshot of Deb, Sou Chef

Deb

Head Sous Chef

Brenna

Bar Manager & Event Coordinator

Headshot of Brenna, Bar manager & Event Coordinator
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