Slows Bar BQ Pontiac to cease daily operations

After eight months, Slows Bar BQ's downtown Pontiac location next to the Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts is ceasing daily operations at the end of business Sunday.

The restaurant at 8 North Saginaw St. will continue to be open for all performances at the theater, according to a news release, and will continue to book parties and private events in the theater and in the restaurant and bars. The Slows Pontiac location opened in April.

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In the news release, the owners said “we have decided to take a moment to restructure our business initiatives and relaunch with a stronger and more dynamic restaurant.” They indicated the relaunch could take place in late winter or early spring 2018.

Reached by phone, Terry Perrone, managing director of Slows Bar BQ, said sales weren’t where the restaurant wanted them to be.

“We are looking at ways to kind of operate outside of our four walls,” Perrone said. "If sales aren’t going to be at the level that we want them to be at is essentially what we will be evaluating.

“When we are ready to reopen and there’s a number of shows going on, we will be open and come back as a stronger restaurant more in line with our other three locations.”

Opened for lunch and dinner daily, Slow’s is the theater's food and beverage partner. Pontiac is its fourth location outside the flagship Corktown location on Michigan Avenue in Detroit. Slows also has a carryout location in Midtown Detroit, operates at Ford Field and opened a Grand Rapids location in 2015.

In the announcement, the Slows owners said the restaurant will open at 4 p.m. Dec. 16 for a 7:30 p.m. George Winston performance at the theater. They also said they plan to keep “a good number of staff members in our other locations, so they will be ready to relaunch the Pontiac restaurant."

The Pontiac location employed about 30 people.

“Our goal is to be in Pontiac for the long haul,” said Perrone, "For us, it’s a pause, a reset and a comeback in 2018 stronger."

Contact Susan Selasky at 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.