CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — A West Michigan restaurant will be featured on America's Best Restaurants later this year.
A film crew showed up at Red Bird Bistro & Grill in Cedar Springs Tuesday to see what the hype is all about.
Owner Scott Arp says the restaurant is farm-to-table, uses locally sourced ingredients as much as possible and puts a big focus on the quality of its dishes.
A few months ago, a former Red Bird employee pitched the eatery to America's Best Restaurants, and the next thing he knew, producers with the show reached out to him.
He agreed to let a camera crew inside to showcase the food and the community gathering place.
"We've made some great friends that live in town their whole lives, and they're pretty tight. And they welcomed us into their inner circle. And I really liked that closeness. And the regulars that come by, we've made friends with some of those. And I'm just a big fan of small town," Arp said.
Greg Hutson, the host of America's Best Restaurants, says the Red Bird is a hidden gem.
"This is the spot you got to come to if you are a traveler who likes independent mom and pops. One thing I can tell you and I'm not giving too much away here is that Jody is so creative and so inventive. So the food itself is delicious. I mean, they do a ton of stuff from scratch here. And not only that, they source a lot of stuff locally," Hutson said.
With the filming complete, showrunners need to edit and produce the show. A timeline for when Red Bird's segment may air is not yet available, but you're encouraged to check out America's Best Restaurants on Facebook for an announcement.
If you know of a restaurant in West Michigan that should be featured, you can visit Americasbestrestaurants.com to submit a nomination form.
You can check out America's Best Restaurants list of Michigan eateries here.
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