New bars invade Massachusetts Street, increase business for all establishments
Downtown adds Red Lyon, Granada and Harbour Lights
By Angela Cunningham Special to the Kansan
You always knew Massachusetts Street had lots of places to go for entertainment, right? Well, now there are even more.
Three new bars have sprouted on Massachusetts Street in the last few months, giving students looking for fun in downtown Lawrence more places to go to drink, relax and have fun. Harbour Lights, the Red Lyon, and the Granada have recently opened (or reopened) to offer students three very different sources of entertainment.
Harbour Lights, 1031 Massachusetts, was actually an established bar which has recently reopened. After over 50 years of being a beer-only bar, Harbour Lights changed ownership over the summer and began serving liquor and wine.
Cliff Phillips, who owns the bar with partners David Heinz and Curt Melzer, said the decision to serve liquor was an economic one—there's more profit in it.
"Serving liquor allows us to increase the money we take in, and to stay open two hours later and on Sundays," Phillips said.
Phillips, who had been looking for a teaching job when the opportunity to buy Harbour Lights came along, said he was excited about the other new bars on Massachusetts.
"We all feed off each other's business," he said. "I wouldn't have bought a bar if I couldn't get this location. It's great."
A cozy bar, Harbour Lights resembles a scene out of "Cheers": regulars occupy many of the barstools, but lots of newcomers can be found enjoying their mason jars of beer in the big orange booths. The bar offers daily drink specials, and there are plans to install a coffee shop. Patrons can play pool, shoot darts, test their skill at a trivia machine, or just watch TV.
Another new bar, the Red Lyon, 944 Massachusetts, opened in June and has been packed ever since, according to bartender Frankie Porter. She said she had no explanation for the bar's overwhelming success, except for the excellent location.
"Our business has been better than we could have ever expected," she said. "I think Mass is just a great place to be."
Like Phillips, Porter expressed excitement over the other new bars in the vicinity. She said that having so many other bars nearby increases the chances of customers coming into the Red Lyon.
The Red Lyon has an antique feel to it, right down to the gargantuan bar that owner Jerry Neverve bought at an estate sale. This establishment also features drink specials from its full-service bar. Customers can enjoy pool, darts, television, or they can borrow a checkers set at the bar.
A different atmosphere is what Mike Elwell, owner of the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts, was trying to achieve. As a result of the Granada's unique characteristics, Elwell said he doesn't think his location gives him any special advantage.
"We don't attract the usual bar crowd," he said.
With a coffee shop, live piano music in the early evening, and a DJ spinning contemporary dance music beginning at about 10 p.m., the Granada is definitely not a typical bar. Elwell said he wanted to do something a little different with his property, which used to be a theater.
He said he wanted to offer some light entertainment that would appeal to older patrons, then bring in a DJ later in the evening to play dance music so the younger crowd could use the 1500-square foot dance floor.
In addition, Elwell said the history of the building is important to him. Preserving the bar's history is so important that he has made the Granada a non-smoking bar in order to preserve a mural that adorns the walls of the bar.
"I like the history," Elwell said. "I didn't want to chop this building up and use it for offices. Years ago, Gabby Hayes, Roy Rogers and John Wayne were here one evening."
Like the other bars mentioned, the Granada offers drink specials along with its unique atmosphere. This is the place to go whether you want to sit and relax or kick up
vour heels to the latest dance tunes.
This flurry of bar openings has caused speculation that Lawrence may be developing a bar district similar to Aggieville. This popular Manhattan area has several bars within a few blocks of each other. At very busy times, such as KU—KState football and basketball games, the streets are blocked off because of the heavy flow of people in and out of the bars.
What do the owners and employees of these bars think about Lawrence having its own bar district?
Elwell said there has been no concerted effort to make downtown Lawrence a bar district. He said the number of new bars was simply "happenstance"—the space was there and the owners just happened to be opening bars.
Porter said she didn't know if it was a true bar district or not, but that Massachusetts Street did remind her of another bar district.
"It's kind of like Boulder without all the restaurants," she said.
Phillips said there was a definite potential for downtown Lawrence to become a bar district on a par with Aggieville. He said he was excited about all the business, but he doesn't want Massachusetts Street to become a carbon-copy of Manhattan's popular bar district.
"Mass is happening right now," he said. "We're like Aggieville in that we all get business from each other, but I wouldn't want it to be exactly like Aggieville. It's too jampacked with people."
Screaming New Styles
September 24, 1993 *Kyou* • ENTERTAINMENT '93
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