B.O.B. owner plans $1 million expansion

Source: The Grand Rapids Press
Four years after helping to pioneer a resurgence in downtown Grand Rapids night-life, the owners of the Big Old Building are taking another gamble.

They are sinking $1 million into an expansion and renovation of the four-story dining and entertainment complex better known as The B.O.B.

The most obvious change will be a 2,500-square-foot glass-enclosed addition on the southwest side of the building. Above that will be an outdoor deck that will appear to be suspended in air.

The new section, expected to open in August, will stand in stark contrast to the 70,000 square-foot red-bricked main building, a former warehouse.

"It's totally different from the warehouse," said Greg Gilmore, The B.O.B.'s managing partner. "It's a statement in itself. You can see it's something different."

With the addition, Gilmore expects to add another 20 to 30 employees. About 200 full- and part-timers work at The B.O.B. today.

The addition will become a permanent dance floor, open seven days a week, a much-desired improvement over the existing operation, Gilmore said.

Today, The B.O.B. has dancing only on Fridays and Saturdays, and dining and bars areas must be converted to make space.

That's a logistical headache, and sometimes a literal one for customers of The B.O.B.'s various restaurants.

The "pulsating and loud music," Gilmore said, can be grating on diners. "I've heard that and I've felt that."

The idea, Gilmore said, is to segregate the nightclub from the restaurant and concentrate more on food than beverage sales.

Menus for some restaurants will be changed. And eateries on the first two floors -- Gill's Fish House, Judson's Steakhouse and Bobarino's -- will become more distinct.

"What I'm excited about," said marketing director Christine Reed, "is it will be more clearly defined that we have restaurants here. It's not just a giant bar."

The expansion represents a leap of faith in the future of downtown. The B.O.B. and other nearby restaurants and bars once depended heavily on crowds from the Van Andel to generate customers. No more, Gilmore said.

"The arena has been a boon to downtown, but downtown has developed into such a great entertainment district that people come down even without the arena. We're continuing to grow without the arena."

Gilmore admitted that he wasn't sure he would get to the day where he would be talking about expansion.

He and his father, John, sunk $8 million into the building. After the initial opening, sales declined, "but now they're climbing back up. We grew by 10 percent last year.

Still, Gilmore said, he has to stay on his toes: "It's a risky business and every day it's fickle."

That's why, Gilmore said, the renovation isn't the first and it won't be the last.

"The B.O.B. is a work in progress. We'll never be finished."
Source: The Grand Rapids Press