Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill

Established in 2014, Grand Rapids Garage Bar & Grill is a fresh start on an Ottawa Avenue tavern space that has served the city since the mid-1900s, with roots tying back to the historic Beason Saloon. The restaurant specializes in great American food and a great time: ground-fresh-daily burgers, hand-cut French fries, hand-cut and hand-breaded chicken strips (locally regarded as the best in the city), specialty drinks, weekend DJs, and live “Garage Bands.”

The restaurant occupies the ground floor of the 819 Ottawa Avenue NW building, with the Garage Bar Apartments above. Together, the restaurant and apartments form one of the Monroe North District’s most-frequented small-format mixed-use buildings — a daytime, evening, and late-night destination that helped seed the broader neighborhood revitalization the corridor is now known for.

Garage Bar Grand Rapids is operated under 3C Restaurants, the hospitality operating company in which Third Coast Development principal Max Benedict holds an ownership stake.