SAGINAW, MI – There’s a bar and grill located right next to the campus of Saginaw Valley State University where you can enjoy meats smoked on site, house-made crab rangoon and Michigan beer on tap.
A father and daughter team, Jack Leuenberger and Beth Gilbert, own Pierce Road Bar & Grill together.
Leuenberger said he owns the entire Cardinal View strip mall where the restaurant is located alongside other businesses but wanted to open up Pierce Road Bar & Grill with family.
The restaurant celebrated its sixth anniversary on Dec. 4 of this year.
Pierce Road Bar & Grill is right next to Saginaw Valley State University, so Leuenberger said people assume it’s a college bar, but their clientele is mostly people aged 55 years or older.
Whenever SVSU holds an event, such as a football game or a robotics tournament, they usually do even more business than usual, so being next to the college is a perk, and they’re thankful for it, Leuenberger said.
“Our three equal priorities to good service is to be clean, to have good service and good food,” Gilbert said.
The size of the restaurant allows for big tables and groups to be seated as they strive to be as accommodating as they can, Gilbert said.
“I think that is a benefit of being locally owned and family owned and not corporate. We’re from the community and so we want the community here,” Gilbert said.
Leuenberger said one of his main goals is to not only serve good food but to make sure the dishes look good, too. If customers stop in on a day he’s there, it’s likely their table will get a visit from him asking how the food is, he said.
Staff members come up with specials every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to keep the menu fresh.
The most popular dishes include the pork chops, mac and cheese, perch, brick-oven pizzas, smoked turkey and crab rangoon made in-house, Gilbert said. And all the smoked meat served there is smoked in house, she added.
It is also important to Gilbert that customers have healthier and alternative options to choose from, such as a black bean burger, cauliflower rice and quinoa.
There’s also a full bar with 32 beers on tap, and a lot of them are local to Michigan.
“When I travel, I want to go somewhere that’s not corporate. Even, like, if I go down to Detroit or something, I hit up some friends, and I’m like, ‘All right, where’s that place I need to go while I’m down there for lunch or dinner today?’” Gilbert said. “I want to also be that place.”
Gilbert added she wants all people to feel welcome and have a good and safe experience at their restaurant.
“We want to be where everybody feels comfortable. Why would we want to exclude anybody?” Gilbert said.
Pierce Road Bar & Grill accepts reservations for larger parties and can offer large groups buffet-style dining or select menu offerings. The restaurant also offers catering for pick up.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the Facebook page.
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