Tuesday opening of Plymouth’s Red Ryder Lounge creating a buzz
The Red Ryder Lounge is a one-of-a-kind neighborhood bar opening Sept. 17 in Plymouth’s Old Village Neighborhood. PHOTO BY EMILY LYNN CREATIVE
Something close to magical unfolded recently during two soft-opening nights inside Plymouth’s Red Ryder Lounge, a nostalgia-themed hangout located at 584 Starkweather in Plymouth’s Old Village Neighborhood that will officially open for business Sept. 17 at 4 p.m.
“I noticed that very few people had their phones out,” said Jeff O’Brien, who owns the ultra-cool business with his wife Alexis and her mom, Sandy Mily.
“Once the music started jamming and the drinks started flowing, you could tell people were feeling the ambience of this place. There were actual conversations taking place. It was kind of like a party in your parents’ basement before the technology revolution.”
Which is exactly the atmosphere the Red Ryder Lounge’s owners were aiming for when they initially started brainstorming for a concept for their neighborhood bar.
“The feedback we’ve received (from the soft opening) has been great,” O’Brien said. “And the anticipation of our grand opening has been building all summer.”
(To check out a brief video tour of the Red Ryder Lounge on the eve of its grand opening, click here.)
A lot like ‘Cheers’
“We want it to be like the bar in the TV show ‘Cheers’ — a neighborhood hangout where everybody knows your name,” Jeff O’Brien explained Monday morning, just over 24 hours before the business’s grand opening.
“We want people to feel a kind of warmth when they walk in the front doors, not the rigid format you have to follow at a lot of restaurants.
“When someone walks in, the bartender will say, ‘Hey, Jim! We’ll be right with you. Grab a seat’. There are no televisions, no distractions. This place will be all about music, food and drink.”
The Red Ryder’s welcoming decor takes you back to your parents’ (or your parents’ neighbor’s) basement. There is a lot of wood, new vintage-style barstools and tables — and one wall is lined with thousands of O’Brien’s vinyl albums, which will spin on a spontaneous rotation basis on a turntable situated near the northwest corner of the facility.
“All the vinyl is catalogued by genre,” O’Brien explained. “For example, we have a country section, a section with Elvis and Johnny Cash, Motown and R&B, big-band music with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. There’s also a lot of 70s rock albums, hip hop and more modern music.
“I have several hundred more at home, so we’ll rotate the selection.”
Made-from-scratch menu items
O’Brien said the Red Ryder will open casually at 4 p.m. every afternoon except Sundays and Mondays (for the time being, at least) and remain open until 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
“As the night goes on, the lights will go down and the music will go up,” he said, smiling.
In addition to offering a turn-back-the-clock experience for visitors, the owners want the Red Ryder to be affordable — again, like when your parents went out for a night of entertainment.
“Nothing on our menu is over $20,” O’Brien said. “All of the food is prepared in our all-from-scratch kitchen run by Chef Eric. We have a wide selection of shareables and baskets (burgers, clams and chicken), all made from scratch. The only thing that is frozen is the french fries.
“Now, we have some high-end bourbons and scotches that cost significantly more than $20, but we’ll also have shot-and-beer specials. Our beer selection will take people back to their parents’ basement parties, with Miller High Life, Hamm’s, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Stroh’s, to name a few.”
Honoring Plymouth’s past
The lounge’s name pays homage to Plymouth’s renowned Daisy Air Rifle factory that cranked out thousands of BB guns every year just a few blocks away from the Red Ryder location.
The O’Briens and Mily were assisted on the interior design by Patrick Thompson Design, whose work includes Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk in Nashville and the Monarch Club in downtown Detroit.
“We firmly believe that this place is unique to Plymouth, Canton and Northville; really, all of metro Detroit,” O’Brien said. “There’s no place quite like this.”
O’Brien said the location of the Red Ryder Lounge is ideal.
“Old Village is such an eclectic type of neighborhood,” he said. “I love that we’re in a 130-year-old-plus stand-alone building … not in a strip mall or connected to other places. I think it’s a perfect fit for us.”
Better than perfect, actually.
It’s magical.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
