Wounded Minnow to host grand re-opening

While the name of the restaurant may bear the name “Wounded,” one of Dowagiac’s downtown establishments is gearing up to show the community they’re alive and well.

The Wounded Minnow Saloon will hold a grand reopening at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, with a soft reopening Tuesday, hosting customers for the first since temporarily closing on earlier this month following a gas fire behind the Front Street building. Visitors will be greeted by not only by the updated visuals to the restaurant’s décor but also by Cajun-inspired dinner specials and new specialty cocktails, said Manager Jolene Brosnan.

Among the new drinks offered this week include the “Gas Leak” and the “Candy Apple Exploding Martini,” references to the blaze that employees and cleaning crews have spent the last two weeks recovering from.

“No one was injured by it, so we decided to take a playful approach about it,” Brosnan said.

The fire occurred during the afternoon of July 2, when a damaged natural gas meter erupted into flames. Firefighters spent several hours combating the fire, before crews teamed up with members of the Dowagiac Public Services and Semco Energy to seal the line leading to the establishment.

While the brick building received little in the way of structural damage, the interior suffered from smoke and water damage, requiring extensive work to get the place back on its feet.

“Between flooring and cleaning crews and employees, hundreds of man hours have been put in over the last two weeks,” Brosnan said. “It’s been a large scale effort.”

While the business suffered from loss of revenue during a busy Fourth of July Weekend, the staff of the Minnow saw the cleanup effort as a blessing in disguise, giving them time to put in place some long desired changes to the dining area, Brosnan said.

“We ripped up the old carpet,” she said. “The original wood floors are exposed now, and it looks really good.”

The re-opening also gives the restaurant an opportunity to introduce its new kitchen manager, Eric Brant, to customers. The Portland transplant, who had just started at the time of the fire, plans on introducing new dishes to the menu that will use an increased amount of fresh, locally sourced meat and produce, Brosnan said.

His team plans on introducing a new lunch menu in the near future with a selection of sandwiches, salads and wraps. He also plans to introduce a separate late-night menu, which will offer hot entrees after the kitchen closes at 10 p.m.

While the restaurant may have only been closed a short while, the pomp and circumstance surrounding the saloon’s reopening is just one way for them to show their appreciation for the amount of support they received from customers during the cleanup, Brosnan said.

“Myself and Kyle [Belew, owner] have had countless phone calls and locals offering support and help,” she said. “I knew we always had a good fan base, but the last few weeks have shown how strong our community support is.”