When one Green Door closes …

Eastside bar and music venue back under new management

Since November, patrons of The Green Door may have noticed some changes to the Michigan Avenue staple. First came a new stage, sound system and lighting. Then came concerts with more diverse, and often younger, artists.

The Green Door closed in late June, apart from its weekly Thursday night karaoke, with owner Jen Costigan announcing on Facebook that she was looking for a buyer to “continue carrying the torch for this iconic music venue.”

She found what she was looking for in Lansing music scene vets Scott Bell and Irving Ronk, who have taken over as booking managers.

Until the end of last year, Costigan continued to book shows and operate the establishment as she showed them the ropes. Now, Bell and Ronk are at the helm, toeing the line between updating the venue and maintaining continuity.

“We turned the place back on and invited a lot of the legendary local and regional acts to come back and pack the place,” Bell said. “This spring is all about that, and a bunch of cool touring artists, new national acts, and hopefully some exciting formats that folks might not have expected to see from The Green Door in the past.”

A change in leadership

Costigan has been with The Green Door for more than 30 years. She began working there in 1991, selling shots to patrons, and quickly made her way up the ladder to server, then bartender (the first woman ever behind The Green Door’s rail at night), then manager and music booker. Finally, she became an owner.

Her business partner, Jon Woolston, moved out of state about a decade ago, leaving her as sole operator. She was in that position when the pandemic hit and the ensuing year and a half was a “very trying time for The Green Door,” she said.

“I don’t think anybody ever expected to ever deal with something like that,” she said. “Obviously, we were legally shuttered for quite a long time, and we were the last type of business that was allowed to reopen. So, during that time frame, I just applied for grant after grant after grant.”

She received grants from the city of Lansing, the state and the U.S. Small Business Association. She noted that The Green Door was the only bar venue that received the state grant, with most funds going to larger venues like the Wharton Center, opera houses and theaters.

“That gave us the money to get bills paid while we were shuttered, and then it also gave us an opportunity to get reopened and try again,” she said.

But with the stresses of the pandemic, compounded by a knee injury that resulted in three surgeries and a recent replacement, “the writing was on the wall” for her to step back from running the business.

“Through the years being so active and in the day to day, on top of running the business, but also making sure the business operates, it’s just hard, you know, 35 years working in that type of an establishment,” she said. “So, it was pretty clear it was time I needed to, you know, pass the baton and move forward before I blew up my other knee.”

She began looking for a buyer, someone who would keep the venue’s music and legacy alive.

“We had a period of almost a year, I would say, of me meeting and entertaining prospects to buy the business. The important thing to me moving forward was that the music played on,” she said. “When I started there at 19, that’s why I fell in love with The Green Door.”

Enter Bell and Ronk, who have been booking shows and playing in bands in the area for two decades.

“Irving and I grew up here,” Bell said. “The pandemic led us to being a part of the Grewal Hall at 224 team — him and I do the majority of the talent buying, which is to say, we produce the concerts. We book the bands, but the soul of music is always at the small-capacity dive bar level, and Lansing hasn’t had that in a meaningful way in a while. So, it felt very natural when this opportunity came up to say, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity here to own something, to run it and keep the legacy and legendary aspect of the place intact.’”

Though Ronk now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, both parties are deeply familiar with eastside culture.

“I lived just down the street for 10 years in my 20s, so I feel like we understand the east side in a in a way that other developers and people don’t, especially from an entertainment standpoint, and that’s what led us to make the jump,” Bell said.

For Costigan, putting her years at The Green Door behind her is bittersweet, but she’s ready to move on.

“It’s been a rocky road, and the last few months have definitely been straining. It’s emotional, you know? It’s my whole adult life,” she said. “It’s just time for me to step back and let the new generation run it into the next era. They’ve already made a lot of changes, but they’ll be continuing to make operational changes. And I’ll be rooting from the sidelines.”

 

Updates and consistencies

With new musical acts comes new faces.

At an indie- and alt-rock show Friday night (Jan. 30), the venue was full of 20-somethings with colored hair, nose rings and trendy clothing, chatting over music by bands not much older than them blaring from the PA system. Most of them were first-time visitors.

South Lansing resident Michael Lepley, whose family has lived in the area for generations, never pictured himself inside The Green Door.

“I saw it closed for a while, and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a show at The Green Door. I want to go!” he said. “I like it. It’s fun. It’s a Lansing staple.”

It was many of the band members’ first times at The Green Door as well. Town Scratch Football Club, the first band of the evening, praised the venue after their set.

“I know this used to be a blues bar, and now they’re kind of catering to just local bands in general,” vocalist/guitarist Ben Machesky said. “I thought it was so kickass. It was such a vibe in there. I mean, all the green, the cool mural on the wall, they’ve got a really cool space in the front for people to dance. And it was great energy in there.”

Apart from the stage and technical upgrades, not much has changed in terms of The Green Door’s design.

“Part of why we were brought in to be booking partners and managers is that we’re not changing a whole lot,” Bell said. “This place has amazing bones. We don’t plan on truly changing a whole lot. Maybe we’ll update the posters. The website’s going to work now. It’s the little things, and then the rest of it is just finding the right bands that want to put Lansing first and want to have a cool, clean concert.

“We did build a brand-new hardwood stage. You know, we’re building things that are going to be around for another 30-plus years,” he continued. “New sound and lighting that make Lansing in a competitive place for developing and touring artists, and the kitchen is coming. Everyone keeps asking, and it is, but we have to walk before we can run. It started with inviting all the old staff back, hiring some new blood and getting the concerts done right, getting those trains on the tracks.”

East Lansing resident Matt Rozman, an attendee of Friday night’s concert, was drawn in by the décor.

“I feel like it got transferred from about 1998. It’s like a weird time void that just happened. You know — the carpet, the old logos, the art on the wall,” he said. “Which isn’t to say that it isn’t charming. I love this kind of stuff, but if you’re looking for something like bright and flashy and modern, this isn’t that kind of place. It’s a place to enjoy the music.”

He said he would love for his band — Florence, Texas — to play the venue someday.

“We’re a country band. Per my dad, this place used to be a country and blues bar,” he said. “I feel like we’d fit in well here, we could definitely get a lot of people out here. I’d be excited.”

 

New beginnings

Not all reactions to the updates at The Green Door have been positive. Comments left on a Facebook post advertising a Charli XCX dance party in January included “Wtf has the green door turned into??” and “This is a disaster waiting to happen… .”

Costigan said some of the regulars who frequented the bar during the day or for happy hour have yet to return during the new open hours.

“They’re not open until 7 or 8, and so there really isn’t an opportunity for some of them to come back,” she said.

However, the weekly karaoke night remains, which has been drawing in a group of dedicated patrons for years.

“I partnered up with MiLife Sports club years ago, and I have always given them Thursdays. We sponsor their club, so we get a group of younger people that come out on Thursdays, young professionals,” Costigan said. “You’re definitely going to see a lot of the same old faces on Thursdays, because that’s the one night that has stayed the same. Jason White is the karaoke host, so he’s kind of carrying on that tradition for me.”

East Lansing resident Christy Jones, a friend of White’s, frequents the karaoke night. She said she also enjoys the live music and the communal atmosphere.

“The bartenders are nice, the people are nice. I’m glad it’s back in the Lansing area,” she said.

Though she hasn’t been to many of the new shows yet, she’s excited for the change in pace.

“I’m excited that they’re trying to do different things,” she said. “I saw that they had a Charli XCX party, I saw new dance parties, and they have a comedy night on Tuesday, which I think is good. I’m excited that they’re going to bring new developments to Lansing-area nightlife.”

Costigan hopes Bell and Ronk will maintain some of The Green Door’s regular performers — the local cover bands, rockers, blues masters and funky freestylers who have kept the venue alive for decades.

“The local bands have definitely been a fighting force for The Green Door. They were our bread and butter for a lot of years,” she said.

Bell said those acts will always have a home at The Green Door, but that his and Ronk’s goals for the venue don’t necessarily revolve around one set clientele.

“Every band that plays in Lansing and East Lansing can find a home here. With that, we will be booking more touring, national and international talent that would normally play other markets,” he said. “We’re not going to be just one genre. I think part of the magic of working at a venue and in live events is seeing people come into a space and feel like, ‘Oh, this is our home. This is our scene. This is my music.’ The goal is for the crowd to change for every event, to have disparate crowds, different folks.”

Costigan said she’s seen a lot of new people, especially younger people, at the venue in recent months.

“Every band brings their own following, which is awesome,” she said. “So, I do think the changes are going to, and already are, bringing in different clientele, new clientele.”

But she made sure to mention that she’ll never forget everyone who’s supported her over the years.

“I just want to say thank you, not only to the local musicians, but to Lansing, to all the customers who have come in through the years, as well as my staff,” she said. “You know, I miss and love everybody, but everybody knows it’s time for Mama Jen to take the next steps. But I’m very thankful. I never would have been able to keep this place going through the years without the help of everybody around me.”