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A new tavern is opening this summer in the old Kopper Top, a West Side bar at Stocking and Fourth on the city's West Side that closed in 2012 after 42 years.

(Garret Ellison | MLive)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The good times will return to the southeast corner of Stocking Avenue and Fourth Street NW this year when a shuttered bar reopens as a new neighborhood tavern.

Fred Mackraz and Rob Kraal are opening the Blue Dog Tavern later this summer in the old Kopper Top location at 638 Stocking Ave. NW on the city’s West Side.

City planners approved the partners’ plans for the new tavern in June.

“The West Side has a great city feel to it,” said Mackraz, a local attorney who, along with Kraal, bought the location and liquor license in December.

“It has all kinds of heritage and history, but it’s still gritty,” he said.

The partners have begun interior construction on the new tavern, which will include a full bar plus both lunch and dinner food service.

Crews are busy removing drop-ceilings, exposing long-closed windows and removing carpeting, said Mackraz. The new owners are going for a “1930s feel” that incorporates the building’s history as a grocery store, bank and several past bars.

The 100-plus-year-old building has been closed since May 2012 after the Kopper Top, a 42-year-old bar, went out of business.

Mackraz, who frequented the Kopper Top, said the new tavern will include some copper elements located around the bar as an ode to the former business.

Mackraz is hopeful new energy and investments on the near West Side can achieve some momentum and help the corner of Stocking and Fourth get some destination traffic. Other bars nearby include the Monarch Club and Holiday Bar, and Salvatore’s Italian Restaurant also serves drinks.

“It really can be a walking destination,” he said. “That’s what were hoping for.”

Details on the food and drink menu are still being worked out, he said. The Blue Dog Tavern was approved by the city for hours until 2 a.m.

The partners hope to open the tavern in August.

Garret Ellison covers business, government and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram