After the Farmers Market Packs Up: How Downtown Hudsonville Spends October

In 2023, Anna Vreugdenhil came up with the name "Anna's Little Bakery" and started selling her baked goods at the Hudsonville Farmers Market. This past August she opened her own bakery and cafe at 5400 School Ave., near Chicago Drive and below the Terra Station apartments. The market where she got her start ran its last Wednesday of the 2026 season on Sept. 30.

That sequence explains this October downtown. For four months, Terra Square was busy every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That weekly event is over for the year. Downtown keeps going anyway, because some of what the market built now has permanent addresses, and the city has its own building set up for a new tenant.

The Stall That Became a Storefront

Vreugdenhil told News 8 she searched for years before she found a home for the bakery. When the space under Terra Station came up for retail leasing, she said, "I immediately was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's where my bakery is going to be.'" The building was brand new, so she designed the space from scratch. Construction started in April, the final inspection was Aug. 5, and the ribbon-cutting was the next day.

"I've dreamt about this for years." Anna Vreugdenhil, speaking to WOOD TV8

The menu builds on what she sold at the market. Her bestseller is a cherry almond bar, her own favorite cookie is the blueberry crumble, and she said customers keep telling her the oatmeal raisin cookie is the best they've had. Coffee comes from Aldea, which started as a nonprofit working with farmers in Honduras and now has shops in Grand Haven and Muskegon. The cafe pours lattes, chai and matcha. In August, she said she hoped to add one or two gluten-free options a day within about a month. She also takes cake and catering orders.

Retail space along Chicago Drive is still tight. A mile or so of storefronts can change hands quickly, and the same month brought a second bakery story. Stir It Up, at 3170 Chicago Dr., closed its walk-up window on Aug. 22. Founder Zoe Bruyn told MLive the lease was not renewed, and nine months of searching had not turned up an affordable new space. Stir It Up is not gone entirely. Bruyn said wholesale and custom orders would continue through the end of the year, so regulars still have time to place a holiday order.

A City-Owned Building Waiting on Its Pizza Oven

New construction is one way a business gets a downtown address. Terra Square shows a second way. The building at 3380 Chicago Dr. is owned by the City of Hudsonville. Pinwheel Kitchen manager Nick Otten told WOOD TV8 that the city was looking for a tenant and approached the restaurant about the space. Pinwheel Kitchen is moving into the former Bosco's Pub space, across from the event space. It will be its second location after Grand Haven and will operate under its own LLC, separate from New Holland Brewing.

The plan is for a takeout-focused restaurant with indoor seating, a front patio and a back patio shared with Terra Square, where Pinwheel hopes to host live music. "We've got a real big pizza oven and I'm ready to serve the masses with this thing," Otten said. In the city's July newsletter, City Manager R. Tyler Dotson called Pinwheel a community-minded addition to downtown.

The restaurant has not announced an opening date. On Aug. 3, Otten said a fall opening looked "realistic," but there was no exact date. The city's June announcement also said the date would be shared later, and we found no newer confirmation. The shared back patio matters here. Terra Square is now home to a new bakery, a hall that hosts seasonal markets, and soon a restaurant that hopes to put music on that patio.

October's Downtown Calendar

The Wednesday market is done for the year, so downtown activity this month comes down to a few dated events. Here they are in order:

Urban HayDay is the big Saturday. Todd Wenzel Chevrolet is the main sponsor, and the Hudsonville Chamber's schedule runs like a block party on Harvey Street. Families with small children will want to plan around these times:

• Highland cows are on site only from 10 a.m. to noon, so arrive early to see them.
• Pumpkin candy drops start at 10:30 a.m. and repeat every 30 minutes.
• Ohana Dance performs at 11 a.m. and noon.
• Free cider and donuts are served while supplies last.
• Pony rides, a climbing rock wall, animal hoppers, mini golf, an inflatable corn maze, music and a photo spot run throughout the day.

Nearly every activity has a local sponsor. Hudsonville Family Dentistry covers the cows and mini golf, Hulst Jepsen Physical Therapy the cider and donuts, Lake Michigan Credit Union the corn maze, and Kerkstra Septic the photo spot. Local businesses pay for the day.

The Fall Market five days later takes the place of the Wednesday market, held on a weeknight evening. Admission is free. Terra Square lists seasonal vendors, local boutiques, artisan goods, jewelry, baked treats, food and drinks. The 5 p.m. start fits an after-work stop, and Anna's Little Bakery is just around the corner on School Avenue.

One practical note for both events. Starting the week of Oct. 5, Ottawa County Road Commission contractors are resurfacing New Holland Street from Chicago Drive to the Hudsonville city limits. Work is expected to last through mid-October, with flaggers directing traffic through temporary lane closures. If you usually reach downtown that way, give yourself a few extra minutes on HayDay morning.

Extending the Saturday Past Harvey Street

HayDay ends at 3 p.m., but several other places stay open later on Oct. 10.

Farmhaus Cider Co., at 5025 Stanton St., lists the Dune Buggy food truck from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. Farmhaus notes that calendar details can change, so check before you go.

Post Family Farm, at 5081 Bauer Rd., is in its 2026 fall season from Sept. 12 to Nov. 7, open Monday through Saturday. Activities include pumpkin picking, hayrides, a corn maze, bonfires and pumpkin donuts. HayDay's corn maze is inflatable and its pumpkins come as candy drops. At Post Family Farm you can do both in a real field. The season ends the first Saturday of November, which leaves four more Saturdays after HayDay.

Thai Landing, at 3830 32nd Ave., opened recently. FOX 17 featured it in August. Owner Sawalee Taylor serves Thai dishes and offers gluten-free options. It's a good dinner choice after the cider and donuts are gone.

Where Downtown Stands Heading Into Winter

From October through early spring, downtown will rely on its permanent tenants. Anna's Little Bakery has a permanent storefront, and its owner is already planning a bigger menu. Stir It Up continues taking custom orders through December. Pinwheel Kitchen's opening at Terra Square is still the last open question. When it opens, the city-owned building will have a restaurant tenant, and the shared back patio will be where Otten hopes to bring live music.

Until then, the next dates to mark are Oct. 10 on Harvey Street and Oct. 15 at Terra Square.

Downtown Hudsonville is changing one storefront at a time, and the team at Blu House Properties keeps track of each opening, lease change and new building along Chicago Drive. If you'd like to know what's changing near your street or what it might mean for your plans, reach out and we'll share what we're seeing. Contact Us.