Wrigley Center renames bar and dining area to Colony Club
PORT HURON – The lights are back on at the bars and restaurants at Wrigley Center that closed earlier this year, now with a new branding that might look familiar to patrons of an old haunt on downtown’s Main Street.
The Colony Club opened Monday with new hours in the northernmost section of the Wrigley, 318 Grand River Ave., which was last used by Wrigley Hall Entertainment before the group closed in February.
The former Stage Lounge is now the Colony Bar, complete with the iconic sign of the namesake establishment formerly located at 321 Huron Ave., while the attached venue, most recently called the Warehouse, has been remodeled to open as the Colony Bowl for weekend fowling fun, which combines bowling and football most weekends Thursday through Saturday. This Saturday, however, the fowling has been moved to another Wrigley property nearby, while a local nonprofit music organization’s annual event, LMBA Fest, is being moved to the Colony Bowl area due to rain.
Matt Birkett, manager of the Wrigley Center, said they saw an opportunity to keep the bar open seven days a week to capitalize on residents visiting downtown earlier in the week when other establishments may be closed.
He said the What the Fry restaurant is returning to a dining area and will mirror the Colony’s daily hours, opening at 11 a.m. but closing at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, when the bar closes at 11 p.m.
Two of the three remaining restaurant spaces are expected to be occupied sometime in July by Senior Tequila’s branch, called Senior Tequila’s Express, and local catering company Blue Water Barbecue.
“We have additional seating for people who don’t necessarily want the bar atmosphere,” Birkett said Wednesday. “They can come in and just enjoy the food and sit in the main hall. Definitely a more comfortable experience than before.”
What do the new premises look like?
Wrigley’s main concourse was fitted with a pergola-like canopy over the new seating and in front of the restaurants. The bar was also repainted – from baby blue to green – and old music albums and guitars were hung as decorations.
The Colony Bar’s neon-lit sign welcomes visitors at the end of the bar.
Such a nod to downtown Port Huron’s commercial history follows several other projects undertaken in recent years by developer Larry Jones, who owns Wrigley Center.
The Wrigley itself is named after the market that once stood on the site of what would later become the long-abandoned Art Van Building, while the Ballentine, Winkelman and Newberry lofts and the Arden Corridor through the Ballentine Building also recall earlier major downtown structures.
“Everything we did in town is part of history. Whether it’s the 5 and 10 cent store in Newberry or Winkelman’s or Arden’s Alley, people can remember it,” Jones said. “It’s the same here. People come to the Colony Club, which is the Colony Bar and then the Colony Bowl, see it and think, ‘Wow, we were there.’
“If these stories aren’t told anymore, these generations will disappear. That’s also why the Christmas or Thanksgiving meal is so important for families… because all these young children are listening to the older people telling all the stories from the old days.”
While several other stores have already opened in the Wrigley commercial area, store organizers are also waiting for the completion of a climbing area and an arcade on the site this summer.
Birkett said the former Roof Taps bar area upstairs, overlooking the current Colony Bowl, will remain open for event bookings – something they hope to continue from the former Wrigley Hall.
He said the Colony Bowl could also be converted occasionally for larger events, including quarterly concerts. Later, he said, the east area, separated from the main hall, would be set up as an adult gaming area with pool tables, dart boards and cocktail tables.
How will the bird trapping site work?
The Colony Bowl, which was closed earlier in the week, was still set up for fun on Wednesday.
This hybrid game, popular especially in Michigan, features netting to protect televisions and small wooden booths near each station where players can set their drinks and avoid being knocked over by, as Birkett put it, “squeezers.”
“We call it Colony Bowl because of the Colony Club and the bar,” Birkett said. “There are these wooden platforms and the places where you put the pins are marked in a triangle. Just like bowling pins.”
“And you take turns throwing back and forth, one throw at a time. The goal is to knock down all the pins. Once all the pins on a board are knocked down, the other team has a chance to counterattack. We still (rent) it by the hour, so you just bowl and fit in as many games as you can. … You can do it one-on-one. (But I) don’t think that’s going to happen most often. I think two-on-two, three-on-three is the best fit for the space we have back there.”
For more information about the Colony Club, visit its Facebook page or email [email protected].
Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or [email protected].
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