Local business owner to open an upscale restaurant and cocktail lounge in downtown
By Lucy Hough / For Black Squirrel News
MARSHALL — It was just over two years ago that Mike Johnson became owner of the Stagecoach Inn and changed the leadership and the menu. Now, Johnson and his team are preparing a new venture in the Cronin Building, where Grand River Brewery previously operated. With a two-restaurant concept that offers fine-dining food and mixology, the team hopes to fill a niche in Marshall.
“We did a market analysis around town. If you’re going out for a nice dinner, anniversary, date night, you’re most likely leaving Marshall,” said Brandon Newling, regional manager for B All In, the company that owns Stagecoach and these new restaurants. “Marshall has a lot of mid-tier bar food,” Newling said. Besides Schuler’s Restaurant, where “a lot of us have gone a lot,” he said, “you have to be in your car and drive 15-20 minutes, even further than that, to get somewhere nice.”
The restaurants in the Cronin Building intend to fill that gap.
The Cronin
Each storefront will have a different business behind it with one host stand to manage both restaurants. The premier restaurant, on the east side of the building, will be The Cronin, which focuses on “meat, beer and whiskey,” Newling said.
Seating nearly 100 people, it’ll be a louder, brighter and bigger space than the other, with a menu offering higher-priced meals. Newling imagines they will offer a range of options, from a $30 steak to a Wagyu steak with add-ons for $90. A burger will be available for a more entry-level experience, but more sophisticated options, maybe with whiskey in the cooking, will be available too. Newling shared that complementing the high-end dinner options, they hope to have a lunch menu mid-day with more affordable options, like bowls or sandwiches.
101 Club
The other restaurant, behind the host stand on the west side of the building, will be the 101 Club, a play on the building’s address. This will be a prohibition-style cocktail bar with unique, quality cocktails and cold plates, such as charcuterie or dips. Seating about 60, the 101 Club will be darker, quieter, and featuring custom-made seating. The cocktail menu is being developed by Nick and Jeff Adams, the duo with Calhoun County roots who are also behind the acclaimed cocktail bar Drip Drop in Grand Rapids. This is the first project for the Adams’ consulting business.
These cocktails will be expertly made, Newling said. Across the two bars between the two restaurants, connected through an arched walkway with 20 beers, as well as four craft cocktails using nitrogen. There will be four mixologist stations across the two restaurants that are designed by Adams Consulting as well. Newling shared they will even have five types of ice to ensure professionally-made cocktails.
These businesses will offer an up-scale experience and fill an unmet need in Marshall, and the team is confident it will be a dining experience that draws people from throughout the region.
“I think our alcohol service, from the cocktails to the beer selection to the wine selection to the whiskey selection, it’s going to be hard to beat, even if you were to go to Kalamazoo,” said Anthony Kramer, the general manager for the Cronin and 101 Club.
The team building the culture
To Johnson, the strength of these businesses, marked currently by the success of Stagecoach, is due to the team making it happen. He said they prioritize a strong employee culture, which translates to a strong customer experience. Leadership prioritizes communication with their staff at Stagecoach and ensures all folks have the tools, training, and knowledge to do their jobs. Because of that, Newling said, they have some of the highest employee retention rates among restaurants in the area.
“We have good systems and good people and training, and so they have a shift, it goes well and they make good money, and they keep coming back for more,” Newling said.
They intend to bring these principles to the restaurants at the Cronin Building. In addition to Johnson and Newling, they also have a general manager, Anthony Kramer, and a front of house manager, Heather Nation. Kramer and Nation both come from Texas Roadhouse in Battle Creek. The role of executive chef is currently posted, and they’re hoping someone will bring their own spin to the food. And as they get closer to opening, they hope to hire between 60-70 people to bring these restaurants to life. Folks who can wait for the opening and sense the excitement are already signing up. They have between 10-11 people already hired for serving or bartending jobs, including some from Clara’s on the River, which closed in Battle Creek last month.
“I imagine these servers and bartenders are probably going to be one of the higher paid serving bartending jobs in the city. Because our check averages are going to be above average and just the quality and price point here is going to be above average, therefore tips will match that,” Newling said.
Exciting futures for historic buildings
Currently there is not an opening date for the Cronin and 101 Club because B All In is working on acquiring a liquor license. They’ve looked into purchasing one, but that has proved difficult due to cost or restaurants not willing to sell. So, the team is going the route of the Marshall Downtown Development Authority to get a liquor license and is currently in the investigation stage of the process with Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department.
Construction is taking place within the space, including moving the bar on the east end so that equipment can fit underneath and changing the host stand to better manage traffic between the two bars. Newling hopes to be open in November; once they have a better sense of an opening date, they will begin hiring in earnest for the other roles.
Once the Cronin is operational and stable, B All In says it will redirect its efforts to the Stagecoach and make improvements. The intent is to expand the kitchen into the building next door, add a dining area there and make an outdoor event space on the roof. A letter of intent has been filed for a grant with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and ideally construction would begin in 2027.
In both cases, B All In is revitalizing historic downtown businesses in Marshall. Both buildings have storied histories that date back to the mid 1800s, with numerous businesses or organizations using the space. The Cronin Building held numerous businesses or organizations since the mid 1800s, especially a department store for many years by the Cronin family.
How we reported this: This reporting is the result of an in-person interview with representatives of B All In and background research on the businesses, people and buildings featured in this story.
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