Wrigley Center rebrands bar, eatery area as the Colony Club

PORT HURON — The lights are on once again at the bar and eatery venues that went dark earlier this year at the Wrigley Center — now with a rebrand that may sound familiar to patrons of an old Main Street haunt downtown.

The Colony Club opened with new daily hours on Monday in the northernmost space of the Wrigley, 318 Grand River Ave., last occupied by Wrigley Hall Entertainment before the group closed in February.

The former Stage Lounge is now the Colony Bar, complete with the iconic sign from the titular establishment that was historically at 321 Huron Ave., while the attached venue, last called the Warehouse, has been outfitted to open up as Colony Bowl for weekend “fowling” fun, combining bowling and football, most weekends Thursday through Saturday. However, this Saturday, fowling was being moved to another Wrigley space nearby, while a local music nonprofit's annual event, LMBA Fest, relocates to the Colony Bowl area due to rain.

Wrigley Center Manager Matt Birkett said they saw opportunity in keeping the bar open seven days a week in order to capitalize on residents visiting downtown earlier in the week while other establishments may be closed.

He said food establishment What the Fry is returning to an eatery station, mirroring the Colony’s daily hours, opening at 11 a.m., except closing at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday when the bar closes at 11 p.m.

Two of the three remaining eatery spaces are expected to be filled sometime in July with the Senior Tequila’s satellite spot dubbed Senior Tequila’s Express and local catering company Blue Water Barbecue.

“We have extra seating for people that don’t want to necessarily have the bar atmosphere,” Birkett said Wednesday. “They can come in and just enjoy the eateries and sit down in the main hall. Definitely, a more cozy experience than it was before.”

What does the new space look like?

The main Wrigley hall has been outfitted with a pergola-like canopy over the new seating and in front of the eateries. The bar has also been repainted — from baby blue to green — with vintage music albums and guitars hung up as decorations.

The neon-lit Colony Bar sign greets visitors at the end of the bar top.

Such a nod to downtown Port Huron business history follows several others developer Larry Jones, who owns the Wrigley Center, has made with other projects over the last several years.

The Wrigley itself is named for the market that once occupied the space that later became the long-abandoned Art Van building, while the Ballentine, Winkelman, and Newberry lofts and the Arden’s corridor through the Ballentine building also honor past downtown mainstays.

“Everything that we’ve done in town has been part of history. Whether it’s the Newberry 5- and 10-cent store or Winkelman’s, or Arden’s Alley, people can relate back,” Jones said. “So, the same way here. People come into the Colony Club, which is the Colony Bar and then Colony Bowl, they see (it and are) like, ‘Wow, we went there.’

“Now, those generations are going to fade away if don’t have those stories. It’s kind of like (why) Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner is so important for families … because all these young kids hear the older people telling all the stories of the old days.”

While a few other businesses have opened in the commercial area of the Wrigley, business organizers also await completion of a rock-climbing area and arcade on site this summer.

Birkett said the fomer Roof Taps bar area upstairs, which overlooks the current Colony Bowl, remains open to booking events — something they want to continue from the former Wrigley Hall.

He said the Colony Bowl may also occasionally be converted for larger events, including quarterly concerts. Down the road, he said the east area separated from the main hall would be set up with pool tables, dart boards, and cocktail tables as an adult gaming area.

How will the fowling space work?

The Colony Bowl, which remains closed earlier in the week, was still being set up for fun as of Wednesday.

A hybrid game largely popularized in Michigan, the area has been set up with nets to cover TVs and small wooden enclaves near each station for players to put their drinks and prevent, as Birkett put it, “stray bullets” from knocking them over.

“We’re calling it the Colony Bowl because of the Colony Club (and) bar,” Birkett said. “So, you have these wood platforms, and it’s marked where you put the pins down in a triangle shape. Just like bowling pins.

“And you alternate tosses, back and forth, one toss at a time. The goal is to knock down everybody’s pins. Once all the pins are knocked down on one board, the other team gets a chance to rebuttal. We’re still (renting) it by the hour, so you just kind of bowl and fit in as many games as you can. … You can do it one versus one. (But I) don’t think that’s going to be the most common. I think two versus two, three versus three will fit best with the space we have back there.”

For more information on the Colony Club, visit its Facebook page or email [email protected].

Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Wrigley Center rebrands bar, eatery area as the Colony Club