THE BAYWOOD LOUNGE CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AS A SAGINAW LANDMARK

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THE BAYWOOD LOUNGE CELEBRATES
25 YEARS AS A SAGINAW LANDMARK

By Robert E. Martin

It is often said in business that longevity is a true test of
success, but this is an over-simplification that neglects to address the
reasons for the longevity.

In the case of The Baywood Lounge, which is celebrating its 25th
Anniversary with a huge 3-day party celebration July 24-25-26, the reasons
for success may not be readily apparent to the casual observer driving past
the rather non-descript building located at 2734 Bay Road.  But as with any
entity, the recipe for success resides with the ingredients.

Mike Houlihan of The Baywood Lounge

When owner Mike Houlihan and his brother Pat first purchased the venue back in 1978, the development of Bay Road was still in its infancy. Fashion Square Mall was only six years old and certainly none of the established 'chain' restaurants were littering the landscape. Indeed, they probably couldn't have existed back then, seeing as a bottle of beer only sold for 80 cents.

So when asked why he has managed to succeed in the food & beverage business for 25-years, an industry many perceive to be 'tough', Mike is able to answer quickly, without batting an eye.

"If you keep a place clean, make the prices reasonable, and give customers
what they want, you don't need much else," Mike states. "And you need to
maintain a regular staff. When our employees come here they usually don't
leave because I believe in treating employees the way that I like to be
treated."

"When we bought The Baywood, all we wanted to do was keep it nice, neat,
and clean and keep our drinks at a fair price. I don't believe in gouging
anybody," he continues. "The only time I've raised prices is when I've been
forced to, and basically I wanted a place for the average guy. Now we have
a very mixed clientele and even have judges and lawyers come to frequent
us."

"It's just a nice place where people go after work, have a few drinks, or
enjoy a hamburger before catching a movie."

The Baywood was the first place Mike purchased and it just goes to show how
far one can achieve if your heart is set upon a venture.
"I always wanted to own a place and didn't look at a lot of locations,"
notes Mike.

"I was a builder my whole life and decided to get into this as a sideline.
My brother and I built houses, apartments, and light industrial. Initially
this was going to be just an investment and we were going to buy five or
six places, but that didn't work out.  It could have, but it didn't. So we
ended up with two places, The Baywood and The Roadhouse for 20 years."

About eight years ago the two brothers split the two venues up, with Mike
retaining The Baywood and Pat keeping The Roadhouse, which he recently sold
a couple years ago.

Apart from enjoying a solid reputation for it's excellent food and friendly
atmosphere, The Baywood has also earned a solid reputation as one of the
best places to come view sporting events.
With two big screen TV's divided by a wall in the spacious open-seated
area, Michigan State and U of M fans love to sit with fellow alumni to
enjoy the ambiance.

"It's funny," notes Mike, "because we've never been a sports bar nor called
ourselves one, but we do a good business for football, hockey, and all the
sporting events. People just tend to gravitate here."

Of course, a big reason that people do gravitate to The Baywood is the
gracious concern and fun-loving nature of Mike and all his staff.
Moreover, few venues have exhibited such a deep-rooted commitment to the
well being of their community.

"We used to have these 'Champagne Breakfasts' back in the '80s," explains
Mike. "We'd sell tickets for $100.00 a couple, people would come at 10 AM
and have this huge buffet and drink champagne. They'd eat, drink and party
for four hours and after the second year we'd sell 100 tickets.  We raised
over $120,000 for cancer research at St. Mary's Hospital."

When asked about the biggest changes he's witnessed over the past 25 years,
Mike is reflective.
"The liquor laws have made things more difficult for operators, but apart
from that it's all the businesses up and down Bay Road. The traffic has
helped and hindered us. It's hurt in the sense that I can't compete with
chains like Applebee's and Bennigans because I'm just a small, local
businessman. But then again, we do get a lot of their employees coming here
after they close."

"Honestly, I don't know if this business is harder than any other
business," continues Mike. "People tell me I must be in a tough business,
but it's no harder than anything else. You just have to keep on top of
things."

In terms of future improvements, Mike is hoping to soon add an outdoor
patio this summer and is currently working with Saginaw Township on gaining
approval.

In terms of anecdotes and humorous memories, Mike says he could probably
write six books to cover the last 25-years.  But one that does stand out in
his mind is the time his sister started working in the kitchen one time
when she was in-between jobs.

"This guy ordered a hamburger with everything on it," relates Mike, "and
fortunately he was a good sport, because when my sister made the hamburger
and it was brought to the table, the guy took a big bite out and noticed
that all he was biting into was a bun with catsup, mustard and pickles on
it. She forgot to put the hamburger on! So he asked if it would cost any
more to include the hamburger and my sister took it back and put the meat
on the same bun with a bite out of it!  That was pretty funny, but as I
say, the guy was a good sport."

So does Mike plan on continuing with his time-honored tradition of
providing one of the friendliest, quality oriented, and reasonably priced
lounges in the tri-cities for the next 25 years?

"God willing, I'll be here," concludes Mike. "A few years ago a fellow from
Detroit called once a week for two months wanting to buy me out, but I
didn't want to sell. I've invested a lot of my life into this place and I
like the business."

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