Bar spotlight: Myja's Gray Wolf Inn

Natalie Burg | For the Lansing State Journal

New owners breathe fun, young life into Myja's Gray Wolf Inn

Here's something I learned at Myja's Gray Wolf Inn: If you've been reviewing area bars for a while and you're in a vaguely familiar establishment, when someone asks if you were "the one" who wrote the bar spotlight on them some years ago, just go ahead and say, "No. Absolutely not. Couldn't have been me."

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd written anything on Myja's before. My recollection of the name made me think I'd been there, but once I arrived the bar didn't look at all as I'd expected it. And as the new owner described how offensive the last review had been I became quite certain it couldn't have been me (I'm so nice!) - until he was wrapping up his story.

"It was a Wednesday night and our pool leagues were in," he recalled, "and they basically just made fun of the place, making some jokes about the proportion of pool sticks to mullets."

Oh. Well that definitely sounds like me. And when I learned that among the changes bar had undergone in just the past few months of new ownership included "removing a lot of the wildlife stuff," it all started coming back to me. Oops.

But here's the thing: it's all new now! The walls are freshly painted, the place is bright and clean and the shiny wood paneling on the bar is a pleasantly modern compliment to the walls' funky, exposed brick. So maybe I made fun of Myja's "some years ago." Today, I am a fan.

New ownership has played a big role the Myja's transformation. Kelsey and Jim Church just bought the place in August, and they've not only made big changes to the bar, but have big plans for the future.

"We've got two nights of karaoke, trivia night, new items on the menu and you can now find us on Myspace and Facebook," Jim said. "We're really looking at attracting a younger generation."

While the young ones are coming out at night for the events, the Churches' changes in the menu has been bringing new faces in during the day. They've added daily lunch specials, and their lengthy menu includes some homemade items. I enjoyed a California Cheddar soup that contained actual vegetables (big ones) and actual Cheddar. And while the bar used to primarily offer the domestic standards on tap, I further enjoyed my dinner with a microbrew from Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin.

But that's only what's going on in Myja's right now. As Jim explained, there's even more to look forward to in the future. Next spring they intend to open the second floor of the bar as an upscale dance club, similar in style The Exchange.

"Lots of people come to the bar as couples," he said. "We figure the girls can go upstairs to dance and then guys can stay downstairs and play pool. That's a fun night for everyone."

Oh yes, they do still have pool on Wednesdays. And maybe they still have some mulleted participants - who knows? But this time there's a lot more than pool night going on at Myja's. Between their new look, the new food and beer selection, Trivia on Tuesdays, karaoke on Fridays and Saturdays, Ladies' Night on Thursdays, I'd be hard pressed to hold a few hairstyles against them.

Know of a bar we should feature? Contact Natalie Burg at natalieburg@gmail.com.