Bar Louie Opens As One Of Downtown Royal Oak's Newest Restaurants

ROYAL OAK, MI — The popular national restaurant Bar Louie has opened in Downtown Royal Oak, occupying the former Blackfinn space at 510 South Main Street. The new location’s manager, Chad Apap, is excited to be a part of the Royal Oak community.

“One of the reasons we chose Royal Oak is because we believe in the development going on in this town. We know that there are a lot of changes going on right now. We want to be a part of that development and grow with the community," he said.

His optimism for downtown Royal Oak is matched by his sense that Bar Louie came in at the right time, he added.

“There’s a ton of nightlife opportunities in this town, but we’d also like to be one of the corner bars that people treat as an extension of their living room,” Apap said.

Apap is no stranger to managing high-profile restaurants in dense urban locales. His previous position was manager of the Downtown Nashville Bar Louie after he helped open the location in Auburn Hills, MI.

Bar Louie also compliments some long-standing Royal Oak anchors. According to John Stuyvenberg, General Manager of the Royal Oak Music Theater, Bar Louie is a welcome addition for his guests.

“Bar Louie is the kind of place people like to go to before or after seeing a concert. We have expanded to 100 shows a year and are selling out in most of them, which is an additional 1200 to 2000 people in downtown each night. We’re happy to recommend new places to our guests and have them spend more time in our downtown,” Stuyvenberg said.

Bar Louie is located near 526 Main and The Morrie, both popular weekend establishments. The three restaurants on that section of Main Street form a nightlife nexus and contribute to the city’s identity as a nightlife destination.
Anthony Yezbick, one of the partners at 526 Main was pleased to see the new business open next door.

“I think it’s going to generate more foot traffic and we’ll see this section of Main Street be similar to Fifth Street where you have HopCat, Fifth Avenue, and O’Tooles. I think Bar Louie opening is a positive thing for downtown. It’s Royal Oak versus everybody right now in the press so it’s good to have something that makes Royal Oak more interesting,” said Yezbick.

Downtown Manager Sean Kammer sees Bar Louie as evidence that downtown can attract both small business and national chains. “It’s a very encouraging sign when you have a small business like Proving Grounds and a national chain like Bar Louie both make announcements within a week of each other that they want to be in Royal Oak. I think that speaks to our resiliency and diverse appeal, especially in such a dramatic time of change that is occurring downtown.”

The new office buildings under construction offer the prospect for even more foot traffic to traverse the doorways of new restaurants in downtown. With four new firms in the Etkin building totaling approximately three hundred fifty employees, the Henry Ford Outpatient Center being constructed, the new Hyatt Hotel, and the recent announcement that hometown logistics company RPM is expanding with the addition of five hundred employees with the assistance of a grant from the MEDC, downtown Royal Oak is poised to add well over one thousand more people to its sidewalks on a daily basis.

New residential developments also promise the addition of a reliably high population in downtown Royal Oak such as the Singh Development at I-696 and Main Street that includes 245 luxury apartment units and retail and the residential redevelopment of the former Billings equipment rental site that includes a future 65 residential units.

Other new businesses have recently opened or announced their intention to call downtown Royal Oak home. For instance, Vera Asian, Diamonds Steak House and Pinky’s, and Sake Sushi on Main Street, Mrs. Masons Co. on South Washington, and Kaydense Galleria on Fourth Street all recently opened. Other businesses like Proving Grounds Coffee, Kaizen Ramen, Condados Tacos, and City Ramen are coming soon.

The Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce is holding a ribbon cutting for Bar Louie (510 South Main Street) on Thursday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. The event is open to the public.