Waterfront Bar and Grill future unclear at City Market

LANSING — The future of the Waterfront Bar and Grill at the City Market is up in the air.

Scott Keith, president and CEO of the Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority, which runs the city market for Lansing, said LEPFA has decided not to renew The Waterfront Bar and Grill's lease.

“We’re looking to redevelop the market entirely into a different type of venue," he said. "We think this is a good option.”

But the restaurant, which opened in 2010, has no plans to leave the space, said Patrice Drainville, the vice president of Simmons Properties, which owns The Waterfront Bar and Grill. The recent letter from LEPFA was a surprise, she said.

"We're big supporters of the downtown," she said. "We like being downtown. We've invested a lot of money."

Drainville said restaurant owner Scott Simmons initially signed a 20-year lease for the space. As vendors moved out, the bar and restaurant expanded and tacked on another lease, which had the option to renew every three years, she said.

"We're standing by our long-term lease," she said. "We're working with city officials to figure things out."

LEPFA notified the restaurant of its decision not to renew earlier this month. The lease ends on June 30, Keith said. The bar and grill took up about 4,400 square feet of space and paid about $52,800 in rent each year, he said.

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What a revamp of the market might look like isn't certain, he said. The space may remain a market or could be reworked into something entirely different, he said, but food and entertainment will be the focus.

Keith said LEPFA hopes to announce a plan for the space sometime this summer.

The remaining businesses at the City Market — including LS Jewelry Designs & Florals, River Town Adventures and the newly-opened Shee B Baking — are on month-to-month leases, Keith said.

In April, Hills' Home Cured Cheese left the market for farmers markets in Flint and Davison and a new outdoor pavilion market in downtown Saginaw.

The city will contribute $80,700 for the City Market this year, according to the adopted 2017/2018 budget.

The original City Market opened in 1909 at a site north of the current market at 325 City Market Drive, across the Grand River from the Accident Fund headquarters.

That market was demolished in 2010 to make way for the developer Pat Gillespie's Marketplace Apartments.

With its prime location on the river, the city plans to work to reinvigorate the market, said Mayor Andy Schor

"I think there's a lot of opportunity there," he said. "We would like to see that busy. We have some ideas and thoughts, but nothing that's firm."

Schor said all options are on the table, including selling the building and leasing its land.

Council member Patricia Spitzley said she thinks its unlikely that the market will ever be a true farmer's market again and selling the market would free up money for other services, such as an additional code enforcement officer.

"I think it’s inappropriate for the city of Lansing to be subsidizing a bar," she said. "I would just as soon sell it."

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.