About Us...

We Don't Get Much More Local Than This

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Yesterday, we had some customers come in to eat who started talking about some long-gone people who used to live here in Galesburg. I overheard their conversation and eventually sat down with them for a few minutes. We ended up talking quite a bit about Galesburg history and the people who helped shape this community.

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As they were getting ready to leave, they asked me if I had lived in the area for a long time because I seemed to know so much about the town. They were somewhat local themselves, and they were surprised to learn that our restaurant is locally owned—and that we're the only restaurant in town where the owner also lives right here within the city limits.

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That conversation got me thinking that maybe other people would enjoy hearing a little about our family's history in Galesburg.

My name is Wrifton Graham, and I've lived in Galesburg for 45 years and counting. I was born here, went through G-A Schools, and after graduating, I stayed right here in town to work with my parents in some of their businesses. Over the years, I eventually took over many of those businesses as my parents began to retire.

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Our family's history in Galesburg goes back much further than my own 45 years. My family-owned Taylor Lumber Company here in town, back when the lumberyard was also where the area's coal and livestock came in by train. The family operated four lumber companies for nearly 100 years.

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That all changed in the mid-1980s, when the first big-box lumber companies began arriving in the Kalamazoo area. Once Builders Square opened on Portage Road and similar stores began expanding throughout Southwest Michigan, my grandparents made the difficult decision to close the lumber companies.

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My mom is a G-A alum, and my dad went to Climax-Scotts Schools. Both of them have spent their entire lives in and around Galesburg. My dad still lives in the home that his dad and his dad built.

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My mom worked in real estate in Galesburg for many years with Larry Wright before eventually going out on her own. Our family also ran a publishing company for 12 years out of the building where Pizza King is today.

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When the publishing business began to decline as the internet changed the industry, we changed gears again. We purchased Grant's Antique Mall from Dave Pardoe and operated the antique store for about 12 years.

Then COVID changed the way antique malls operated, and it simply wasn't financially feasible to continue running the store the way we had for so many years. So, once again, we adapted.

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That's when we changed the business into Rockhound Rock Shop.

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Since then, we've continued to grow. We added the pole barn behind the shop, which we call the Trading Post, started offering lots of different kinds of classes and eventually opened this restaurant across the street.

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Through all of those changes, one thing has remained the same: we believe in Galesburg.

Our family has been actively supporting and trying to grow this community since my great-grandfather originally settled here in 1818. We've seen Galesburg's ups and downs, watched businesses come and go, and experienced firsthand how much our town has changed over the generations.

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But we're still optimistic.

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We truly believe Galesburg has everything it needs to become a strong, thriving community with a growing tourism district. We have history, hardworking people, small businesses, great stories, and generations of families who care deeply about this place.

Sometimes, we just need the right people and the right generations to come together and make it happen.

So, the next time someone says, "support local," remember that you don't get much more local than this.

We're not just doing business in Galesburg.

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We're from here. We live here. Our family history is here. We invest in this community. And we believe in the future of this town.