Old Bag of Nails Pub opens first Michigan location in Lansing
LANSING - An Ohio-based chain restaurant known for its fried fish and chips has opened its first Michigan location in the $256-million Red Cedar Development, located where the city-owned Red Cedar Golf Gourse once was.
The Old Bag of Nails Pub, founded in 1996 in an old hardware store in Columbus, has 15 locations in Ohio. It opened its first Michigan location in a newly constructed, two-story building off Cascade Boulevard in late October.
The Lansing site is the chain's first outside of Ohio, said Tim Miller, the company's vice president of operations. There are no current plans to open more in the state, but the company is looking to expand its reach, he said.
"You guys are our first endeavor out and about," Miller said.
From Columbus Dispatch:Old Bag of Nails hits mark as neighborhood tavern
Fish and chips, and other pub fare
When Old Bag of Nails Pub first opened 26 years ago, the menu focused on burgers and other pub fare, Miller said.
"You know ... good beer, good burgers, homemade chili, things like that," he said. Fish and chips came a few years later, Miller said; today it's the chain's most popular menu item.
The chain spent time selecting the right fish − always cold water, Atlantic fish − and perfecting the batter, he said.
"It's either cod or haddock, just depending on what they're fishing at the time," Miller said. "We have a specific company that goes out and looks for that for us. It's firm, it's a very light flavor, a mild fish flavor. It is battered, deep-fried, and served fresh."
The restaurant's menu also features sandwiches, seafood such as mussels, salmon and shrimp, and burgers. The pub has a full bar featuring beer, cocktails and seasonal drinks.
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The new restaurant, with a 3,500-square-foot, first-floor dining room, seats 124 people on the lower level. The second floor, an event space with an outdoor, covered patio, seats 84.
"We have a very large, first-story patio in the back," Miller said. "We have two bars. Our bars have garage doors that open up to the outside. You can see the Sears water tower right across from us."
The eatery employs about 60 people, he said, and the business has been gaining customers over the last month.
"It started off a little slow," Miller said. "Nobody knows who we are. Once it started picking up and people started coming in and talking about it, it's been great."
The eatery's spot in the new development, which is also home to apartments, Red Cedar Lodge, a roughly $35-million, five-story senior luxury living facility, and Hooked, a bookstore, coffee shop and wine bar, makes for a unique mix of customers, he said.
"It's a great mix of locals and students that meshes together very well," Miller said. "They've embraced the kind of atmosphere that we've evolved here, so everybody's included, not just students, even though we're so close to so many of them."
Learn more about The Old Bag of Nails Pub online at www.oldbagofnails.com and on Facebook at "Old Bag of Nails Lansing."
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Ohio-based Old Bag of Nails Pub opens first Michigan location in Lansing
