Mullis: Battle Creek is red and vibrant

My husband and I were in JCPenney’s buying a winter coat, two pairs of jeans and a sweater. The sale was amazing. Our cashier said prices would be even lower when the “liquidators” come.

This year I’ve been to Macy’s closing sale, MC Sports' closing sale several times, and I’m sure to return to JCPenney after the liquidators come. This isn’t joyful shopping, even if I did get 90 percent off a winter coat I could never take home at full price.

I can’t pass on bargains like that, even if I could pass on the atmosphere.

No more fashionably dressed mannequins, no more orderly clothes racks, no more asking the sales associate for a size 8 in the super-cute, sling-back heels on display. Everything is stockpiled in the center of the store and everything must go!

It’s hard to reconcile this thrift-shop feel. I associate these stores with “special occasion” shopping – graduations, proms, weddings, job interviews. The despair lingers as I drive home, making me painfully aware of every empty retail space between the mall and my street.

I don’t like this feeling and I don’t think it’s justified. Chain stores could never define this town.

Recently, my husband surprised me with supper from Umami Ramen. Savoring the last spoonful of broth, I thought about Peecoon Allen, the restaurant’s owner. I had the pleasure of being a Mosaic storyteller with Peecoon last May. She told me about her journey from Thailand and how her restaurant was about to open in downtown Battle Creek. I knew the building at 78 Calhoun St. – white and vacant.

Now it’s red and vibrant.

This made me think about grilled cheese and tomato soup at Barista Blues Café and sweet potato pie at Rafaynee next door. I thought about how you can’t have a bad breakfast in Battle Creek – banana pancakes at the Pancake House, raisin French toast at Homespun, a “Sizzlin’ Skillet” at Lux Café.

You have to come to Battle Creek to eat at those places.

Our Battle Creek Horrocks is my hands-down favorite place to shop for nothing in particular. Just walking in the door lowers my blood pressure. I must not be the only one, for I’ve never seen an anxious shopper there. Why worry when you can eat fresh sushi, sip Michigan brews, browse birdbaths for the garden, and buy cactus leaves, all in one spot?

The Art Center of Battle Creek’s gift shop is another favorite, filled with art of all mediums, every piece made by a Michigan artist.

Battle Creek Books satisfies both my reader’s heart and writer’s soul. New books share space with used books, just as local authors share book events with national authors. The owners are quick-witted and quick to order anything you can’t find on the shelves.

Sitting across from our independent bookstore is our independent toy store, Hall of Toys. This place brings out my inner 7-year-old whenever I shop for my nieces and nephews.

We have three places to watch first-run movies, two of which recently completed renovations. We have greenhouses and flower shops galore, including Brookside Greenhouse of Urbandale which has year-round scarecrow displays. We have more here than I have space to write it down because our town isn’t dying.

It’s red and vibrant.

It will stink to drive to Kalamazoo for Macy's or Penney's, but those stores never meant Battle Creek to me, anyway. What defines Battle Creek is always open for business.

Nicole L.V. Mullis is the author of “A Teacher Named Faith.” Contact her at nlvm.columns@gmail.com or www.NicoleLVMullis.com.