Retro Rocks Bar & Grill

By Robert E. Martin

Imagine if you will the 'ultimate' Video Collection - not something
consisting merely of 'Pop Favorites', but a collection so expansive that it
touches upon early performances of artists such as The Rolling Stones
performing Sympathy for the Devil on the BBC with Brian Jones on piano;
Jimi Hendrix when he was but a back-up guitarist for a knock-off Soul
Revue; or a youthful Bob Seger performing Lucifer on a local Cleveland TV
show, and you get a brief taste of what is in store at the newly opened
Retro Rocks Bar & Grill, located at 110 S. Hamilton St. in Saginaw's
historic Old Town District.

A collaboration between business partners Elmar Paeva, Tim Sullivan, and
Tom Wood, this latest jewel in the string of successful entertainment
establishments lining Hamilton Street definitively lives up to its motto of
being a place where Saginaw can come to remember a time when one could see
Alice Cooper at the Golden Glow Ballroom, catch ground-breaking groups like
The MC5, Frost, and Stooges at the Saginaw Auditorium, or witness Bruce
Springsteen opening for Chuck Berry at the Midland Fairgrounds,  all for
under $5.00 per ticket.

Tastefully decorated with expansive walls papered with rare rock 'n roll
memorabilia extracted from Elmar's impressive collection of old posters,
album jackets, and newspaper clippings, unlike many clubs where people
listen to DJ's spinning strictly music, Retro Rocks showcases rare and hard
to find videos from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

As a VeeJay extraordinaire, Elmar will accept requests and mix various
styles of music on two High-8 video decks, with everything broadcast upon a
state-of-the-art sound system and a large diamond-vision projection screen.

"The idea for this place was cooking around in my head for a long time,"
explains Elmar, "and when I came back to Saginaw and realized that much
about Hamilton Street hadn't changed in 20 years, I finally decided it was
the right time to try something totally different like this."

Originally a Saginaw native, Paeva moved down to Detroit for 15 years where
he ran a successful record collectible shop and started polishing his
VeeJay skills in large Detroit area clubs.

"My idea for this started flowing down in Detroit, " he continues. "Only
rather than doing it one or two nights a week, I envisioned an entire
'retro club' built around the chemistry of what I am doing. "

Actually, the partnership alliance that spawned Retro Rocks was formed back
in 1981 out at the Golden Glow Ballroom.  "I was an owner of the Golden
Glow and Elmar introduced videos on 4-foot video screens back when we ran
teen dances," explains Tim Sullivan.

"Tom started the Teen Dances at the 'Glow' and this honestly started as a
fluke idea that took off like wildfire.  Elmar came in, did a couple of
dances, and ended up working there for four winters on a regular basis."

After the Golden Glow experience, the trio went in their own directions.
However, in 1988 Sullivan offered Wood a percentage of his catering
business if he would step in and help manage it.  Wood & Sullivan have been
aligned ever since.

"About one year ago Elmar said he wanted to go into the bar business,"
continues Sullivan, "and Tom and I were concerned, because we're both
married!  But my wife was down here for our VIP party and she rally likes
the place. She knows me pretty well and supports me and is excited about
this new venture."

The trio felt it was fate that led them to the current renovated Hamilton
Street location.

"We looked at different bars for sale," explains Tom, "and at one time had
a purchase agreement on The Colonial Inn.   The problem with that structure
is that it was small and kind of isolated. Then Elmar saw this building for
sale and we started negotiations.  An agreement was already entered into
it, so we called the owner, upped the price a bit, paid COD, and requested
no conditions on the building.  If we would have waited, we would have
missed out on the opportunity."

"If you're going to have a bar in this area, we wanted Hamilton Street,"
adds Tim. "It was fate that we found this building, particularly on this
block close to JB Meinberg's, because I feel this area is key for Hamilton
Street and the city."

In addition to the video bar component of the business, Phase Two of the
operation consists of opening an evening restaurant in the adjoining
structure called The Dining Room.

"My family has been serving fish & chips for 55 years in Saginaw, so fish &
chips will definitely be on the menu," notes Sullivan. "We've been kicking
ideas around. I'd like to retro back to the Schuch Hotel days and offer
Friday fish fries with perch, walleye, fish, shrimp, and a couple of steak
offerings. It's pretty easy selling seafood in this town, especially
considering my family has been doing it for so long!"   Then on Saturdays
we'll go more upscale with it, offering steaks and Prime Rib.  Monday
through Thursday will feature a more limited dinner menu, but we probably
won't get into lunches because we like opening at 4:00 PM."

"Frankly, the restaurant component kind of evolved gradually, " notes
Elmar. "I was going to operate a CD/record store over here, but then
thought why not use this prime location for something different.  I mean,
why have my operation here when we could utilize the space in tandem with
the bar?"

Laughs Tim: "One time this summer this side of the building was full of
record albums from floor to ceiling. Then we said, 'Okay, Elmar, you did a
good job getting them in, now let's move them out."

"In addition to serving food in The Dining Room, we'll be renting it out for private meetings, banquets, and rehearsal dinners. Any type of food service that needs to be catered can be done at our regular location and brought here.  Plus it will serve as an overflow room for Friday & Saturday nights, " explains Tom. "We've catered over 50,000 meals in our catering division." Without doubt, however, the key to the success of Retro Rocks lies in the able hands of Elmar Paeva, who has worked at assembling his video collection for over 25 years.

"I first got interested in video back in the mid-70's," he explains. "I
could see in the future that preserving the music on video would be a key
thing.  At that time I got in touch with a lot of different people involved
with collecting, and it evolved from there over the years."

"Plus, over the years, videos themselves have changed. Record companies
started putting videos out for songs, but I think the first time I
witnessed this approach was when I went out to Las Vegas in the mid-70s.
This bar was doing videos and I thought it would be interesting to pursue.
I probably have close to a thousand different titles."

"We encourage requests," he continues, "and the beauty is that if you have
a younger crowd in you can tailor the show to their tastes, just as if you
have an older crowd."

Indeed, perhaps the 'crown' of Elmar's collection is the rare footage of
early seminal Michigan artists such as Alice Cooper, The MC5, and Bob Seger
that he owns, along with the early footage he shot himself when at the
legendary Daniels' Den of Iggy Pop & The Stooges.

"I shot that performance myself and am the only one that has it," notes
Elmar. "I licensed 30 seconds of it for use on VH1 when they were doing a
'Behind the Music' segment on Iggy."

Though encouraged about their early reception, the trio of proprietors
agrees that the most challenging component of their endeavor is longevity.

"It's easy to open something, but will it be open in a year," asks
Sullivan. "We've invested a lot of time and money in the building, but
whether this will have staying power is something we don't know.  The
entertainment business is fickle and something can be hot one moment and
gone one or two years later, but we're all from Saginaw and are confident
that the concept itself is innovative, and like the music itself, rather
timeless."

"I'm especially proud to be involved with this project," concludes Tom.
"When the Fordney Hotel was first remodeled I worked there as a doorman. I
would always stare across the street and see the accountant Barbara Uhl
sitting over here in her office. Little did I know that 20 years later I
would own the building."

Retro Rocks affords patrons of the tri-cities an innovative alternative in
entertainment.  Beautifully remodeled, never tiring, with walls that
certify for Saginaw's own 'Rock & Roll Hall of Fame', it is a testament to
the vision of these three men that Saginaw can celebrate the New Millennium
by taking us all upon a crystal clear romp through its musical past.
More than entertainment, it serves as a compass for where we've been, and
helps solidify a positive sense of hope at where we will be going.

Retro Rocks is located at 110 S. Hamilton Street and is open from 4 PM
until 2 AM Monday through Saturday.