Starting Friday, it's a brand new Unicorn

Vickki Dozier | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Unicorn Lounge soft opening party Unicorn Lounge held a soft opening Wednesday. The bar opens for business at 3 p.m. Friday, June 23.

The Unicorn Lounge has a 5-foot-tall unicorn statue above the door. Her name is Mysty.

On the door below her is a sign that says "before you enter" followed by snippets of description and instruction:

"It's dark in here."

"We serve booze your grandpa likes."

"We play music we like."

"Shut up and drink."

Inside there's a party going on, a Wednesday night soft opening for the renovated Unicorn: 80 people taking photos, drinking, eating and dancing.

Disc jockey John Beltran spins tunes from Prince, Bon Jovi, Rick James, James Brown and the Beatles.

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The Grand River Avenue building has been a bar since the Alt Heidelberg opened there in 1934. It became the Shamrock in 1952 and the Unicorn Tavern in 1984.

On Friday afternoon, its latest incarnation, the Unicorn Lounge, will be unveiled to the general public.

"We’ve put lots of new speakers in and cameras, all new pool table, new jukebox, new lighting, new stage stuff, enhanced the stage," said Pat Gillespie, whose company The Gillespie Group purchased the property.

"We can take credit cards now. We brought that up to date because before it was cash only. Lots of graphics. I’m excited for everyone to see the difference."

A team of construction workers, electricians and others worked furiously over the past several days to renovate the inside of what was once the Unicorn Tavern.

It was supposed to take three days. Gillespie says the project probably took four.

"All of the contractors really came together," Gillespie said. "They’re all really busy on other jobs. They were here for three, four days, and they really worked long and hard. No one complained. They were working on top of each other. Just the attitude, to see people pull together was great."

Now posters of The Who, Def Leppard, AC DC, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bob Marley and others grace one wall, along with a Rolling Stone Magazine cover with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube on it.

"Shut up and drink" is etched over the bar. The back wall is covered with a huge painting of Johnny Cash.

There are specialty shots with names like "Rainbows and Butterflies," "No Regrets" and "The Mysty." Cans of beer start at $3. There's a selection of wines.

"It’s definitely different, progressive and definitely upbeat," said Luther William Brown Sr., also known as "Mr. Party."

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Brown was born and raised in the neighborhood and has been a patron of the Unicorn Tavern for at least 30 years.

"I’m just hoping that the neighborhood people who have always stopped through and felt comfortable here will continue to do so," Brown said. I will."

There's a Mysty on the inside of the bar, too, boasting a long braid on one side, inviting folks to come "Take a pic for good luck."

The interior Mysty was ordered from the United Kingdom, a taxidermist's replication of a horse's head.

"It looks like a real horse, and they put a unicorn’s horn on him," Gillespie said. "It looks hilarious. We had someone braid the horse’s hair. Between that one and the one outside, it’s pretty impactful. We've got about $4,000 worth of unicorns between those two."

The people who have stopped in have been "blown away," Gillespie said.

"A lot of people thought we were just going to do a little cosmetic stuff, and it turned out to be a lot more than that. I think people will be impressed. We’re excited to show it off."

Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickkiD.