It’s been three long years since we’ve seen the northern lights in Detroit. Of course, we don’t mean the aurora borealis — we’re talking about our favorite New Center hangout Northern Lights Lounge, which has been closed since March of 2020.
The bar and music venue is reopening its doors (and patio) on Friday, May 26 at 6 p.m. It also has shows lined up every evening for Memorial Day weekend, May 26- May 28, to coincide with Movement Music Festival. The bar will close on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, and reopen for regular business hours starting Tuesday, May 30.
Owner Michael Solaka tells Metro Times the bar’s kitchen won’t be up and running during opening weekend, but expects it to be ready by Tuesday. He first announced the reopening on Facebook.
“We had some improvements to get done and we’re ready to reopen staffing-wise,” he tells us over the phone. “We had some difficulty getting all the pieces in place but I think it’s gonna be perfect timing for us.”
He tells us he made some improvements including building a shelter over the bar’s patio, fixing the kitchen, and upgrading the HVAC system.
“You can’t really see everything and it still looks like the same old place, just kind of spruced up a little,” he says.
Solaka isn’t sure when he’ll be ready to bring back the bar’s popular brunch, saying it depends on how soon he can get the place fully staffed.
“We’re still working on that but we just had to force it open,” he says. “All of us will be just pulling double duty until we can fill out the staff, but we’ve got the core staff and I’m confident it’ll be a good one. I’m hoping to do it within a month, but I really don’t know. I gotta make sure that I know how to ride the bike first and then we’ll get it all going again.”
Hours at Northern Lights Lounge will be 2 p.m.-midnight Sunday-Wednesday and 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. The kitchen will be open from 2-8 p.m. daily for now though Solaka says the hours will be extended on the weekend, once brunch gets going.
Live music is also coming back to the bar in full force with Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey returning with his residency every Tuesday starting June 6 and a monthly party with Mike “Agent X” Clark.
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