Meet Kevin, Lansing’s Most Famous Squirrel

Lansing — The friendliest squirrel in Michigan lives just one block from the state Capitol. His name is Kevin, and he’s figured out how to get the people of Lansing to buy him lunch every single day.

He hangs out outside the iconic Peanut Shop in downtown Lansing and is there pretty much all day, every day. He’s just looking for the same thing every other squirrel is but happened to find the best place in the state for it.

If you’ve ever walked across a college campus or through a busy downtown park, you’ve probably met a squirrel that seems practically domesticated. They don’t run off when humans get close and will even come right up to you if they think you have food. Well, Kevin’s no different, except he’s gotta be the friendliest of them all. He’ll eat peanuts straight out of your hand and walk right into a room full of people (they always shoo him out).

Brooke Sturley, a longtime employee and current manager of The Peanut Shop, said Kevin usually hangs out by the door or in one of the trees out front. But on occasion, when the weather’s nice and the staff leave the door open, he’ll try his luck and follow customers inside.

“Some people are really scared of him,” Sturley said. “Just, you know, it’s a wild animal.”

Most people love Kevin, though, and he’s become somewhat of a local celebrity downtown. Regulars will stop by all the time solely to get him a snack, and even people shopping for themselves will spot him on their way out and ask if they can feed him too.

“We have lots of customers that come in and just say, ‘Hey, I need Kevin peanuts,’” Sturley said.

For anyone in the area, The Peanut Shop is a beloved local landmark. Right in the heart of downtown Lansing and just one block from the state Capitol, it’s been around for as long as we can remember. They first opened as a Planters store in 1937, and even today much of the store feels frozen in time. The original glass display cases are still there, the staff still weigh orders on the original scales, and they use the same peanut roaster they’ve had since the beginning every single day. They also sell a ton of vintage candy you hardly see anymore, like candy cigarettes, candy necklaces, and those little wax bottles, all of which adds to the old-timey feel.

My dad has worked in Lansing for most of my life, and growing up, going to work with him meant getting to go to The Peanut Shop. For me, that meant saltwater taffy and Swedish Fish. For him, it meant a bag of fresh-roasted peanuts.

Sturley, too, has a childhood connection to the store. She’s been coming to the shop since she was about 10. Her sister managed it for 26 years, and Sturley got her own start helping out during the holidays before eventually taking over as manager herself. She says what makes the shop so special is the commitment to the same craft they’ve practiced for decades while constantly looking for new ways to build on it.

“Roasting the nuts fresh every day in small batches is something that you’re not really seeing anywhere. I think maybe there’s a couple places left in the country that actually still do it,” Sturley said. “We’ve kept as many traditions as we possibly can and still trying to integrate newer things… Now we make our own cinnamon best mix and our cashew brittle.”

They take no shortcuts, and you can taste it. The peanuts really are that good, so who could blame Kevin for wanting to get in on all that?

While no furry friend has been quite as determined and true, this isn’t the first time The Peanut Shop has adopted a squirrel. Over the years, several squirrels have found out about the best place in town to get food, and each one is named Kevin.

Currently, the workers are pretty sure of two consistent Kevins and say they can tell them apart fairly easily, but for all they know, there could be 15 different Kevins rotating shifts outside the door.

Sturley said there was an exception to the Kevin name once for a squirrel who possessed a very strong feminine energy that she named Kendra. Other than that, it’s always been Kevin.

It’s getting colder, but for now Kevin’s still out there all day, every day, waiting for a friendly passerby to bring him his next meal. So next time you’re in downtown Lansing, stop by The Peanut Shop, grab a bag of fresh-roasted peanuts, and save a few for Kevin, Lansing’s resident squirrel.