GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — On Monday, for the first time in more than three years, Nicole Smith laid eyes on her beloved piano — a rare John Broadwood & Sons that has been in her family for generations.
“I am so relieved,” Smith told Target 8. “I had no idea what to expect, what was going to happen, if I was ever going to see it again.”
Smith reached out to Target 8 after her monthly check to Christian Brothers Piano, the Grand Rapids business she had paid for years to store the John Broadwood, was suddenly returned in the mail. She tried reaching the owner, Gregory Allan Grill, but the business phone line was disconnected. The website was also no longer working and the last listed address on Plainfield Avenue was empty.
Target 8 couldn’t get in direct contact with Grill, either, but did find several pianos at a storefront on Division Avenue South and 44th Street. A tipster told Target 8 they may be connected to Grill. It turns out Smith’s piano was among them.
After Smith and three other Christian Brothers’ customers with similar complaints filed reports with the Grand Rapids Police Department, a detective familiar with Grill was able to reach his attorney, who reached Grill, who confirmed the pianos were at the Division storefront.
Another local business, West Michigan Piano, picked up Smith’s John Broadwood for free. They also offered to store it at their facility for free for three months.
West Michigan Piano told Target 8 that Grill’s customers have been calling them for years.
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