By Tana Michaels
SAGINAW- It's the night of the first anniversary celebration of Saginaw's Mixx Nightclub & Metro Bar and Grill, when the phone call comes that Celeda, the evening's headliner, has lost her luggage on the trip from Chicago to Flint. Without it, she can't go on.
The Mixx's owner, Robb Wiersum, has had plenty of experience with problems that come with running bars and restaurants. It's in his blood. He grew up in a family run restaurant and was busing tables by the time he was 9 years old. He started in gay bars being a DJ and owned his first bar when he was only 33. Now 47, Wiersum has brought his skills to Saginaw.
"This is my dream bar," said Wiersum. He made it out of a former bank and a Mexican restaurant. He's kept the teller windows he found in the basement and used them for the entrance of The Mixx.
Located at 115 N. Hamilton, in Old Town Saginaw, The Mixx is a combination of two bars. One is a bar, restaurant and game room, known as The Metro Bar and Grille, while the other is a dance bar called The Mixx. The dance bar features 26-foot tall ceilings and faux marbled pillars from floor to ceiling. The DJ booth is up high above the dance floor and requests are made in writing at the bar.
"The flow between the two bars is important," said Wiersum, "It gives people an excuse to go from bar to bar to meet more people."
Wiersum also owns Diversions and Pub 43 in Grand Rapids. A friend he met during a fundraiser at Diversions raved to him about Saginaw and a few years later, The Mixx Nightclub & Metro Bar and Grill was born. That fundraising and community involvement wasn't left in Grand Rapids.
Wiersum has not wasted any time getting involved in community charitable events in Saginaw. He has sponsored the AIDS walk, the Sunday Film Festival, and raised funds for Hearth Home and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. The latter at the invitation of the mayor.
"There couldn't be a better name for the bar than The Mixx," said bartender Charles Lisee. The bar is a gay bar that serves the LGBT community as well as the straight community. The fact that it's a mixed bar is communicated through word of mouth and to the patrons at the door.
The decision to make the bar a mixed bar was twofold. One was for economic reasons. Wiersum said that it wasn't that long ago, that in order to meet someone, LGBT people had to go where other LGBT people were. Now with the Internet, you can just log on and find thousands, making the target market smaller. The other reason is that the community is much more accepting of LGBT people than they used to be. There just isn't the need for separation.
There have been private parties including graduations and birthdays at The Mixx as well, where everyone, LGBT and straight, partied together. Letting people know that the bar caters to the LGBT community seems to weed out those who wouldn't appreciate the inclusiveness of the bar.
Friday night, male exotic dancers drew swarms of straight women. "The women mix in easily here, because they're in a non-threatening environment that's not a meat market atmosphere," said Lisee.
As for the LGBT community, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. The bar has class and caters to a 30-plus, professional clientele. "Younger people just don't feel comfortable in this bar," said Wiersum.
"You don't feel ashamed to be here as in some other bars. You don't feel like you're a second-class citizen. You feel safe and a part of the community," said Lisee.
At the end of the day, Celeda's luggage caught up with her and the show went on, with the proud owner looking on with a sense of accomplishment and the gratitude of the LGBT community for his efforts.
