The SCHUCH HOTEL:

Restoring the 'Grand Lady' of Old Town Into a Premier Dining Establishment

 

By Robert E. Martin

     For 138 years the historic Schuch Hotel, located at 301 N. Hamilton has stood as an icon of Saginaw's Old Town district. Built at the height of the lumbering era and surviving various generations of ownership, this historic landmark had sadly fallen into disrepair over the years, and went through a period of about 18 years where it had moved away from the full service family dining establishment that it had evolved into back in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.
     

Thanks to the vision and tireless commitment of new owner Mike Perry, the Schuch Hotel is once again flourishing and shining brighter than it ever has throughout its storied past.  Now open as a full service restaurant & bar capable of servicing up to 200 people, and delighting the taste buds with its expansive lunch & dinner menu, the Schuch has never looked, nor tasted better.
  

"I grew up in the neighborhood my entire life," explains Perry of his decision to take on the project of restoring the Schuch to its past grandeur. "My parents went to St. Andrews, as did I, and my Dad would come here back when Mr. Schuch owned it, so really I've been here my entire life.  I've owned a furniture store here in Old Town for the past 25 years and knew all the past owners, so when Louis Furlo approached me about buying it, I couldn't resist."
    

The 16-month restoration of the Schuch was a project that quickly took on a life of its own. "The reality of it is that I believed in what we could accomplish here before I saw it, and it turned out the way I believed it could be."
 

"First we had to tear all the walls out, redo all the windows that were boarded up, and then we tore six walls down to add 12 new big windows.  Most everything in the building was from the 1920s and even earlier," explains Mike. "The floors had to be resurfaced about seven times because I wanted to bring everything down to its original look. Plus, I've added things that never existed before, like the fireplace that we built."
  

"My sister Jan Bushey helped with decorating by finding a lot of the antique furnishings. We searched a solid year for the barstools and now the place is 1/3 larger in terms of square footage," continues Mike. "I knew it was a big job, but it was three times more than I thought it would be in terms of time, energy, money, and equipment."
    

Because this is Mike's first foray into the restaurant business, it was imperative for him to find a more than competent Chef, which fortunately came his way in the form of Gary Grey.  "He's had 21 years of experience and has helped out tremendously," comments Mike.  "We offer different daily lunch & dinner specials and everything is moving well off the menu." 
 

Additionally, the staff consists of 36 people and the restaurant is open seven days a week from 10 am until 2 am, with food served until midnight.
 

Chef Grey has been certified for 10 years now and earned his Culinary Degree from Purdue University. Certified by the American Culinary Federation, he's worked at Treasure Island, Gepettos, The Matterhorn, and The Black Forest, as well as at Horizons for five years. He has also overseen several openings for restaurants such as the Bear Track Inn in Tawas, and The Holiday Inn in Farmington Hills.
 

"Our numbers have been doing very well and we've been getting strong feedback from customers," explains Gary. "We did have a rough start for the first couple of weeks, but once we worked out the glitches and got the staff properly trained, we've had nothing but good comments."
 

"The most popular items on the menu have consisted of the broiled whitefish and the London Broil, but we also have a Schuch House Melt that is Prime Rib seasoned with provolone cheese and a Cajun Pork tenderloin that have sold very well," he continues.  "We also have homemade fish and macaroni & cheese that is in big demand, and our specialty salads have been strong items, plus we offer seven pasta dishes. Our menu goes all over the place and will take you anywhere you want to go."

 

Mike Perry also notes that his intention in offering all of these fabulous food items was to keep the price as low as he possibly could. "Even our drinks are modestly priced," he adds, "and even with entertainment, we don't raise the drink prices."
 

In terms of entertainment, Mike is looking at variety. "We've had Matt Besey and Caitlin Berry in to perform and I'm working on getting a few jazz bands and having a banjo and piano player come in. My goal is to feature stuff nobody else offers that is conducive to the setting. I might mix a big band in here and there over the weekend. We have the biggest dance floor on Hamilton Street, but the key is that nobody will ever perform so loud that you can't talk to somebody. Patrons will never have to scream here, no matter what artist is performing. Plus I just bought a karaoke machine, so we'll mix things up a bit. The bottom line is to keep it comfortable and retain the atmosphere."
 

Given the fact that The Schuch is the first of many new projects slated for Hamilton Street to come to fruition, is Mike excited about the prospects for the area and encouraged about the future?
"That's a good question," he reflects. "I bought this place on 4/4/04 and my first thought was that I didn't care what anybody else was intending to do, I was going to make this project happen. I built this to stand alone, but the truth is that nobody is an island. Anything that happens in the area can only make it 100 percent better, so I'm enthusiastic about projects like Jakes and whatever the Shaheens have in store for the riverfront."
 

Much to Mike's surprise, many patrons have also helped add finishing touches and nice flourishes to the Schuch. "A lot of the things you see on the walls were found here," he explains. "I found quite a bit on the 3rd floor. Nobody has been up there in 60 years and there used to be a 32-room hotel here.  I plan on renovating the upper floors for stage two and am going to have 12 hotel rooms and 2 apartments, which will bring the place full circle to when it first opened."
 

"Anyway, there was so much stuff upstairs that we found photos and pictures dating back to the 1800s. In cleaning everything out we ended up with 150 yards of waste.  When I took the walls down on the third floor, I found real solid 2x4's that were used to trim the big picture windows downstairs.  I didn't know what they were when I first saw them, because they're much bigger than the 2x4's you find today."
 

"To my surprise, somebody donated an old picture from 1860 of the City and I got a lot of nice gifts when we opened. If anybody wants to bring a Stein in, we'll hang it on the wall for them, because they are difficult to come by."
 

In terms of other Schuch 'traditions', Mike offers free peanuts every Friday and Saturday night, and also brings them out on other busy nights. "We want it to be a nice place, but you can put peanuts on the floor. We've got to sweep the floors anyway. People love the old traditions."
"85 percent of the people that have visited have been here some time or another in their lives," concludes Mike. "A lot of them haven't been here in 15-years, but the new faces that come in are truly astounded, which is very gratifying."
 

So how does Mike balance the challenge of owning not only the Schuch, but also his original Old Town Furniture business along with the newly acquired Arlington Hotel?
 

"I don't sleep," he laughs. "Mr. Sullivan told me I would be able to keep up this pace for five years, but the only thing I'm getting is about five hours of sleep!"