LANSING – Golden Harvest, a small, beloved breakfast eatery in Lansing’s Old Town, is out of foreclosure but work to replace its aging roof hasn’t started yet.
“The community support has just been astounding,” said Jamie Schriner, who started an online fundraiser to help Golden Harvest’s owner Vanessa Vicknair. “Lansing is a big small town and that became very clear with this fundraiser.”
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The Golden Harvest restaurant, pictured Monday, June 14, 2021. (Photo: MATTHEW DAE SMITH/Lansing State Journal)
Nearly 400 donations totaling over $30,000 have been made to the fundraiser since it was established in early May.
Contributions included $4,000 from Kirk Herbstreit and $250 from Todd Blackledge, both ESPN college football analysts and former college football players who have visited the eatery.
“Folks from all walks of life,” donated to the fundraiser, Schriner said. “These are actually who you see when you go have a meal from the Golden Harvest.”
Back taxes on the property from 2017 were paid by an anonymous local business owner, Schriner said. The donor has agreed to pay the remainder of what’s owed in taxes if the building’s roof, which has been leaking for several years, is replaced, she said.
Vicknair still owes the county taxes from 2018 and 2019, Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing said. If that’s paid by March 31, 2022, the property won’t slip back into foreclosure, he said.
Vicknair, who Schertzing said he last spoke with in late May, could not be reached for comment this week.
Last month, Vicknair said the restaurant closed because of the state’s COVID-19 capacity restrictions last March.
With just 30 seats inside the 1,100-square-foot building, it was difficult to accommodate social distancing, she said.
Schriner has been helping Vicknair plan for repairs to the restaurant. She said the next task is getting the aging roof, a problem for several years, replaced.
A handful of contractors have looked at the structure, she said. The work is expected to cost about $12,000, Schriner said.
“The big issue right now, just because all the contractors are so busy, will just be the timing of when the work will get started,” she said. Some contractors have told her they’re scheduling work for September.
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Repairs are needed inside the restaurant, Schriner said, but that work probably won’t get underway until the roof is replaced.
Patches to the roof gave way during the last year while the restaurant was closed, she said, resulting in damage to its ceiling.
The interior will likely get a fresh coat of paint, Schriner said, and outdoor seating could be added to the property.
“We looked at picnic tables, which could be a fun alternative,” she said. “They could be decorated to match the exterior.”
Schriner said she does not have a good sense of when the restaurant will reopen.
Contact Rachel Greco at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.
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