LANSING, Mich. — One local bar and grill celebrated its 100th birthday on Saturday. Harry’s Place first opened its doors in 1922 and has remained within the same family ever since.
“My great grandpa is the one who started it, my grandpa took over and my mom is there, and I’ll be next in line once she’s ready to retire," said Matthew Bates, who is a manager at Harry's and is the owner's son.
Harry’s first opened its doors as Star Cafe, directly across the street from the Durant factory on Verlinden Street. Harry Andros, Bates’ great-grandpa, wanted the factory workers to have a convenient place for lunch and dinner. Even today, a century later, the bar and grill is still community focused.
“The community has helped out more than we can express, I mean the westside neighborhood, the city of Lansing everybody who comes from near and far. Without the customers we’ve got now we wouldn’t be here," said Bates.
Harry’s took on the name Harry’s after the Durant Motor factory closed in 1931. If you check out the walls of Harry’s, you can see some of that history right there, alongside the history of the neighborhood and even the sport's teams the restaurant has supported over the years.
“If you look there’s a trophy case that they have on top of the coolers in there and there are so many different trophies from different sports teams. Whether they’re adult recreational leagues or youth leagues, they’re here to help anybody because again it’s family here," said Louie Bonham, who attended the event.
From all of us at FOX 47 News, we wish Harry’s Place a very happy 100th birthday.
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