Okay, so if you are part of the gluten-free gang, then this next segment is right up your alley.

Papa Chops eatery in Grand Rapids says they're fun-food-friendly boasting an entirely gluten-free menu that everyone can enjoy.

Join me as we explore and taste test this local restaurant.

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- So Aaron, let's talk about Papa Chops.

Is this first of all, the only totally gluten-free restaurant that we're aware of in the Grand Rapids area?

- I think it's actually more than that.

I think I'm the only quick service restaurant dedicated gluten-free in all of Michigan.

And to be frank, I've never found one outside of Michigan so we might be the first, just period.

- Let's start with your story.

Why is there a Papa Chops?

- I was diagnosed as a celiac late in life and found it beyond challenging to live a gluten-free lifestyle.

The only medicine for celiac disease is gluten-free food.

So I have to maintain a vigilance in everything I eat.

But when you go out to eat, you lose control of that.

It's not my kitchen, it's going back and other people are preparing it.

You are very limited on your experience.

Your experience is caution.

It's not indulgence, it's not getting to enjoy the food.

It's "Am I gonna get sick?

What's gonna happen this time?"

And that's a terrible way to eat out.

- And even the smallest amount of gluten in your food could cause a serious reaction, right?

- Yes, so the FDA mandates that gluten-free has to have 20 parts per million or less.

So the irony is, although the gluten-free movement has benefited from some attention for celiacs, it's actually backwards.

Because what's gluten-free is not celiac safe because 20 parts per million is too much.

- What was it that made you say, "You know what I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands and figure this thing out?"

- I had been in business, but I had actually never worked in a restaurant before.

So this was a large deviation from my past.

The early diagnosis of celiac, I not only discovered I can't eat anywhere, but my relationship with food took a massive turn.

Food represented something negative because every interaction with food was a failure.

I realized that this cannot be an Aaron problem this is a broader problem.

And that's what Papa Chops is, is what does it look like if someone stops in their tracks and says, "You know what we're not moving forward until we fix this."

- [Jennifer] So what's behind the name Papa Chops?

- Once I decided we're going to take this route and I started going to school, the first thing that we work on is sauces and soups and knife skills.

So you're chopping all the time.

And I'd come home and my children noticed a improvement in my mood.

I'd be singing, I was happy again.

And because I would just constantly cut up vegetables, they gave me the alter ego of Papa Chops.

And I thought if you're going to do something that is absolutely out of bounds, like creating a gluten-free restaurant, you gotta give it a really crazy name.

- And so your kids basically came up with the name they did for this?

- They did, yes.

- I love that.

I see you have a wall of crayon drawings and is that from children who have come here?

- That's from children who have never eaten at a restaurant that is come from kids that have never had a mac and cheese at a restaurant, never had fries, never had a mozzarella stick, never sat down with their family members and ate the same food.

That is a big thank you from a lot of kids that are excited.

But for me, the trophy is always giving these kids what they deserved all along to just be a normal kid.

- So this is an inclusive environment.

So for those who really are on that edge of, I really need this to be 100% gluten-free, - Yes.

- That's what you provide.

- I am reassurance to the people that just want to be normal and eat normal.

I am also the last line of defense for the people that have all but given up on food.

They've given up on the food industry.

They're ready to sign off and just eat at home and not participate anymore.

I am the chance for them to see it can change.

- I was diagnosed celiac probably three or four years ago now.

And so this is just the way that I have to eat and Papa Chops actually tastes good.

So this is why I come here.

I love a good breaded piece of chicken that tastes good and that I actually enjoy.

The days that I'm craving chicken tenders, mozzarella cheese sticks, a good greasy fried meal I like to come here.

I actually saw it on TikTok one day.

A girl who's gluten-free in this area posted it.

And so I came here and tried it for the first time, probably about a year ago now, and I loved it.

- Now let's just talk about your food.

What are the options and the offerings that you have on your menu?

- I have staples, as a quick service joint I try to be convenient.

I have a large assortment of burgers.

I have wraps.

It took a long time to find a gluten-free wrap.

And we got amazing gluten-free wraps.

We got pizzas, we got salads and we got all sorts of finger food.

Chicken tenders to mozzarella sticks to chili cheese fries to even a Canadian classic poutine.

- All gluten-free?

- All gluten-free.

- All make from scratch or- - All made from scratch, yeah.

Papa Chops needs to be whatever Grand Rapids wants it to be.

It can't be what Aaron Muller wants.

It has to be what Grand Rapids wants.

And that's the ultimate objective.

- Wonderful.

Well congratulations on what you're doing here.

So thank you for allowing us to come in today.

- Yeah, appreciate you.

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