---
title: "Grand Rapids Business Journal: Best in Class to Expand in Grand Rapids, Michigan"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/397c1749-9c88-496e-882d-c1df37db96be
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-best-in-class-to-expand-in-grand-rapids-michigan-12380
category: "Education & Childcare"
industry: "Education & Childcare"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2017-05-29T19:14:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T03:03:43.392Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/62c276c7861b94d4d00d61df51667c528167.jpg
---

# Grand Rapids Business Journal: Best in Class to Expand in Grand Rapids, Michigan

**TL;DR:** Best in Class plans to expand its presence in Grand Rapids, Michigan, targeting the city's suburbs and school districts for multi-unit development. The brand believes it can bring multiple locations to the area due to its attractive population density and number of students.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-05-29. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-best-in-class-to-expand-in-grand-rapids-michigan-12380).*

## Story

Grand Rapids was recently named one of the best cities in the U.S. for new businesses. The Grand Rapids Business Journal spoke with Best in Class director of franchise sales Sharon Peterson about the brand and their plans for the area.

According to the article, the brand believes they can bring multiple locations to Grand Rapids, in part because of the great suburbs and school districts in the area.

Said Peterson, “We look at population density and number of students in an area and looking at the GR market, it looks like a multiunit area. We don’t want to oversaturate the market, but looking at Grand Rapids as a whole, it’s very attractive.”

The piece also mentions the recent growth success of Best in Class nationwide.

Said Peterson, “Last year, we opened 12 locations and our growth is on track with that this year. Looking at Grand Rapids, we see a strong area with a lot of growth potential.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- unit expansion (topic)
- franchise growth (topic)
- Education & Childcare (sector)
- multi-unit development (topic)
- grand rapids (location)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/grand-rapids-business-journal-best-in-class-to-expand-in-grand-rapids-michigan-12380). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/397c1749-9c88-496e-882d-c1df37db96be).