Food Dance Restaurant
Located at 401 E. Michigan Ave.
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 7a-9p | Fri. 7a-10p |Sat. 8a-10p | Sun. 8a-3p
Meet the owner! Food Dance is a downtown Kalamazoo cornerstone with a full-service restaurant, catering team, specialty market, in-house bakery, and butcher’s room. Julie Stanley, owner and founder of Food Dance, has been in the food industry for over 40 years; she works in collaboration with the BOH (back of the house) as the Executive Chef. Since 1996, Food Dance has been committed to supporting and growing a thriving and sustainable local food system. Food Dance supports farmers & food artisans who practice craft food processes that have been around for generations—growing, raising, preserving, curing, aging, pickling, butchering and more. For Food Dance, it’s about the connection with the people and places our food comes from. Twenty-five years ago, Food Dance began serving breakfast and lunch and employed 25 staff. Today, Food Dance serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, employing 85 staff. It’s grown from a cafe into an 11,000 sq ft, 220 seat restaurant, a small specialty food market, catering department, butcher program, on-site bakery that produces a selection of natural long-fermented bread and a full array of pastries. Food Dance is open 7 days a week. What does Food Dance sell? The food, drinks, and products found at Food Dance reflect their commitment to local food & artisans, sustainable & artisan production, and their commitment to the Kalamazoo community. Food Dance recently collaborated with Confections with Convictions for a Food Dance Signature peanut butter chocolate bar, with Picnic Prints on a custom T-shirt design, and for years with Water Street Coffee on our Signature Food Dance blend of coffee served in the dining room and sold in the Market, too. Shopping and dining at Food Dance can range from very affordable ($10) to indulgent depending on what experience you are looking for. Food Dance works to be sure they can offer great food and service to every member of our community. What is new? In November 2019, Food Dance will begin celebrating 25 years of serving fresh, local food to our community. Before “farm-to-table” and “foodie” were part of our daily culture, and before celebrity chefs brought food to the forefront, Food Dance was working with local farmers to pick the best tasting local produce,prepare it with skill in traditional ways (that means no microwaves… ever!), and serve it to our guests. But that’s just the beginning of the Food Dance Experience. Food Dance brings personal service to their guests. They enjoy learning about their guests’ preferences, finding out their names and bringing them into the “family” of Food Dance. They celebrate milestones; big & small with their guests and community. In addition, Food Dance offer classes, dinners and tasting to bring people together through food & drink (with a pinch of education sometimes, too). They share their passion and knowledge freely with the community of food businesses around Kalamazoo and build personal relationships with farmers. How to stay in the know? Follow Food Dance on Facebook, Instagram or check out their website. | 
Grab drinks or dinner at one of the Bates Alley businesses or just sit and relax and enjoy the music with family and friends.
