Downtown Lansing’s Macotta Club Project Officially Scrapped

Even though Lansing is having an excellent year when it comes to restaurant openings, it seems that there's one eatery we won't see open.

A Promising Start for Lansing’s Food Scene

There are lots of restaurants that are planning a 2026 opening. At the start of the year we learned of 20 different eateries that planned on opening, one of which was The MACOTTA Club in Downtown Lansing.

Unfortunately, the plans for The MACOTTA Club have been cancelled.

The MACOTTA Club is Not Happening in Downtown Lansing

The MACOTTA Club was going to be a food incubator that planned to bring six restaurants and 10 more food concepts to the Knapp's Centre. These plans had been in the works since Downtown Lansing Inc. first announced the project in spring 2023.

At that time they planned on opening in 2024, however plans kept getting pushed back. And even by the end of 2024, only two businesses had signed on to be part of the project: Mr. Leslie's Cheesecakes and The German Place restaurant.

Since then, Mr. Leslie's Cheesecakes expanded to a new location in Holt. You can find them at 1967 N Aurelius Road in Holt. Unfortunately, it seems that The German Place restaurant never came to fruition elsewhere, because the last time anything was posted to their Facebook page was January 31, 2025.

Why the Project Was Cancelled

Unfortunately, the funding never came together for the project's dreams to become a reality. Downtown Lansing Inc.'s executive director Cathleen Edgerly had this to say about the project:

Over the past three years, significant effort has gone into exploring a public-private partnership to bring the project to life; however, the level of private interest and funding needed to move the project forward did not emerge. Given current economic uncertainties and continually rising costs - the Macotta Club will not be moving forward.

The cost of the project went from the initial $4 million in 2023 to over $8 million in 2024.

Hopefully something else gets to call the Knapp's Centre home soon.