Downtown Muskegon Blog

Behind the Scenes - The 4-1-1 Bistro-Lounge Opens

A new restaurant named the 4-1-1 Bistro-Lounge has opened in the lower level of the historic Frauenthal Theatre. I met with owner Paul Broussard to talk about what his new restaurant is bringing to downtown.

MS: This space used to be the City Café. What changes have you made in here?

PB: There have been changes made to restaurant’s interior, menu, and atmosphere. The walls of the restaurant now feature art for sale from local and Michigan artists. Right now we are featuring an artist named Lazarus Bain. The 4-1-1 is also providing live entertainment. We are reaching out to local musicians and comedians.

MS: What will make this more successful than the previous restaurant?

PB: We will be trying different things that the previous restaurant didn’t do. We will reach out to the local community and try to make this a more community-oriented establishment. One thing we are doing is allowing non-profits to use this space on Saturday afternoon for fundraising events.

MS: Have you done any advertising?

PB: So far we have done very little. We have done some radio commercials and are included in some local brochures including the Downtown Muskegon brochure.

MS: What made you want to have a restaurant downtown?

PB: It was by chance. I had lunch in the City Café and thought the space was appealing. I asked the owner about doing some events at the restaurant. Instead the owner offered to sell me the business. I had owned a restaurant in Atlanta and after some thought I decided operating a restaurant here would be doable. By that point the City Café had closed. I ended up going through the Community Foundation, which owns this building.

MS: What type of food is the 4-1-1 serving?

PB: We are a bistro-style restaurant with a Creole flair. We serve soup, salads, and sandwiches.

PB: We have a capacity of 137, including the bar.

MS: What types of events will you have here?

PB: We will have different events each night of the week.

Monday night is karaoke.
Tuesday is open mic night.
Wednesday is comedy night.
Thursday is ladies night.
Friday & Saturday nights have live entertainment and dancing.
Also, every first Thursday of the month we will have poetry night.

MS: What are your hours?

PB: Monday-Thursday 11am-midnight
Friday 11am-2am
Saturday 5pm to 2am
Closed Sunday

MS: Thank you for meeting with me and good luck!

Check it out on the web

The 4-1-1 Bistro

Labels: Downtown Muskegon E-News

posted by Dan & Sarah @ 12:53 PM