By Hannah Schwab
If you haven't been to Menjo's in the past three years, then you might not recognize it. A staple of Detroit's gay community has a new look and a new name, but The New Menjo's Complex is still the same great place it's been for more than 36 years.
Owner Jeff Stedman hasn't been in charge that long – he bought the bar in December 2008 – and yet he is very familiar with Menjo's, its history and its place in the Detroit gay bar scene.
When the economy fell and bars and restaurants started to fail, Menjo's was no exception, Stedman says. The previous owner had been in business for years, but only saw it as a business and a source of income, not a key part of the gay community. When the bar stopped making money, he wanted out.
"I saw an opportunity when Menjo's went up for sale," Stedman says. "The bar had been slipping (financially) and the small renovations the owner did four years ago didn't make a difference. I saw a chance to turn this place around and return it to the place it used to be."
While Stedman had never owned a bar before, he does have a degree in finance and has worked in restaurants and as a vendor. He knew the business and had a lot of customer service experience.
"I knew the dollars and cents of how to run a business," Stedman says. "I knew I could handle it, but I also knew I wanted to see Menjo's succeed. This was a favorite place of mine, and I knew other people who loved it. I wanted to restore it to the old Menjo's. I cared if it succeeded or failed, and I never got that feeling from the previous owner."
Bartender Jared Doyle, who has worked at Menjo's for more than three years, can see the difference that Stedman's made.
"It was really rocky before (Stedman)," Doyle says. "There was not a lot of money to be made. In the first six months with Stedman, people were tentative to come back. But once they saw there was a new owner and things were changing, they came back.
"We finally have order and initiative, which makes a huge difference."
Stedman renovated the building and changed up the calendar. The bar always had a popular college night on Thursdays, but Stedman wanted to draw customers in every night, so he introduced other themed nights, like karaoke Mondays, booty contests on Tuesdays and flashback nights on Wednesdays and Fridays. He also offers happy hour every day at 3 p.m.
"We've had a good reaction to the different events and themed nights from both the gay and straight community," Stedman says. "We also try to get different live entertainment in once or twice a month. From March to September, we offer drag queen boxing, which is very entertaining and comical.
"We also have charity nights where the staff dress in drag and collect donations from the customers. Last time, we donated about $400 to the Ruth Ellis Center."
Once a month, on Sundays, Menjo's has live acts, and Stedman books comedians – as well as drag queens and singers (R&B songstress Deborah Cox performed there last August) – that bring in a big crowd.
But not everything's taken off.
"The gay scene is changing," Stedman says. "Some things that used to be popular aren't anymore. Lube wrestling didn't last long at Menjo's."
While Stedman has been able to bring business back to the bar, he is still making plans to renovate, expand and continually improve Menjo's.
"We have two construction projects in the works," Stedman says. "I purchased the building next door and we are building a theater for live entertainment that should open this spring. We are also in the process of building a gay sports bar that should open in 2012."
According to Doyle, this new project makes Menjo's the only bar in the area to offer multiple venues. "The sports bar is kind of self-explanatory," Doyle says, "but there are plans to have different kind of acts in the theater. Besides concerts, Jeff has talked about hosting drag shows and fashion shows in there. He is interested in anything he can book that will appeal to different types of crowds."
Stedman also installed two huge televisions on the dance floor that he said have become popular.
In this economy, Stedman can't lay dormant, he says. If he wants to succeed, he has to keep moving.
"Jeff is trying to have a broad reach that can hit all types of clientele," Doyle says. "The new stage and sports bar will appeal to even more people than we get now. He is really trying to fulfill the needs of every type of person."
Stedman's success, according to Doyle, has come from being social and putting Menjo's name out in the community.
"Jeff is very active in the gay community and really pushes to bring more people in here," Doyle says. "He really wants to show people that a gay bar can be successful in Detroit. He wants to create a gay district in Detroit like in Chicago or New York."
It seems to be working for Stedman, and for the community. Doyle said in the few years that Stedman has owned Menjo's, he has seen old customers return after not visiting for years. Doyle has seen people drive in from out of state purely to visit Menjo's because they used to love it and heard it's back to what it used to be.
"Menjo's is a staple in the Detroit community," Stedman says. "If it falls, the gay community falls. This is a safe, clean environment for people, and they have come to rely on it as a place to be with their friends, even for the young crowd who is just starting to enter the gay bar scene. I want it to stay that way."
