Crooning karaoke at the Western Avenue Grill

By Kate McCarty
Sun contributor

It’s a sleepy Friday night in Glen Arbor. Tourists have left the beaches and they’ve finished their dinners. The sun has set behind the Manitou Islands. Despite the quiet that’s fallen over the town, something is brewing at the Western Avenue Grill. Bar manager Bill Skolnik stands behind a karaoke machine, music blaring. Though the bar is nearly empty, he’s gearing up for the anticipated crowd that usually arrives around 11 p.m.

Karaoke is new to Glen Arbor. The Grill installed its machine in March, but had to work out the kinks before the hot, new weekend activity could get off the ground.

“We needed to figure out what worked and what didn’t,” says Skolnik. “We found out that our microphones weren’t the best, so we had to get new ones.

“We promoted in the papers, but truth be told it took a while for things to really kick in.”

The restaurant began by promoting karaoke on just one day, Saturday. Since taking off, though, the Grill decided to hold karaoke on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, filling up the weekend with hot tunes and cool drinks.

On this particular Friday at 9:30 p.m. a few tourists huddle in the corner, sipping drinks and chitchatting while waiting for the party to begin. Shirley Carlson, who has vacationed in Glen Arbor since 1952, has brought her daughter, Dana, from Ontario. The women have been in town for a week and are gearing up for their first Glen Arbor karaoke experience. Shirley and Dana chose to spend the night at the bar because they’re excited to see what’s going to happen.

“It’s a cool thing to do (karaoke),” says Dana. “It brings people together. It’s got some kind of camaraderie to it.” Her mother adds, “When you walk into Art’s, everyone is kind of in their own group: it’s kind of cliquey. Karaoke is nice because everyone can do it.”

Other local bars, like the Cedar Tavern, offer karaoke, but with a young summer crowd in Glen Arbor, the activity gives youth a place to go nearby and enjoy a few cocktails. But Skolnik says karaoke is not just for young people.

“What surprised me most about it was that we have a broad age range. We see people from 21-81 coming in,” he explains.

Groups filter into the bar from both the front and back doors around 11 p.m., filling the bar stools. Dana and Shirley began tapping their feet to such tunes as “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Billie Jean.”

Camaraderie builds. Jim Query, a summer resident, initially dominates the mic, but people of all ages eventually step onto the floor to dance and sing along to the tunes playing through the speakers. Locals and tourists alike mix and match on bar stools, tables and outside, singing and humming along to the music.

Even bartenders Nicole Nemecek-Plamondon and Brigid Butler shake to the music as they make drinks for the crowd. “My Humps” plays over the speakers and everyone is grooving in the back room of the bar. Nemecek-Plamondon has been working at the Western Avenue Grill for five summers and she says she has never seen a bar crowd quite like this one. “There are just so many people, and they’re from all over the place.”

If you’re planning a vacation in Glen Arbor and looking for a fun, new late-night activity, try karaoke at the Western Avenue Grill. Skolnik expects the event to grow in popularity.

“We have over 1,500 songs,” he says, “but we’re hoping to have over 5,000.” You know where to find him on any given weekend. He’s rocking out behind the karaoke machine, chiming in on songs.

The Western Avenue Grill offers karaoke on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Call the Grill at (231) 334-3362 for more information.