Looking Back at Lansing Area Bars We Miss from the 1980s
Caught myself reminiscing the other day as I was driving around East Lansing. I had so much fun there back in the 1980s, but so many of the bar's my friends and I hung out at are now gone. (sigh)
In the 1980s we all headed to the dance clubs or discos, places like The Bus Stop, or the Rainbow Ranch. Remember when the Rainbow Ranch had dime-a-beer night? That place would be packed. My roommate and I would drive down from Saginaw for that night, it was that much fun and apparently, I was a bit of a partier. (Don't judge)
The Bus Stop was not only a dance club, but they had some wonderful shows there as well. Acts like Hall & Oates, Eddie Money, even the B-52s.
Dooleys in East Lansing, which is now Harpers, was a super fun place to go. I remember on a certain night it was buy- one- get- one for Long Island Ice Teas. Bars did a lot of things to get you in the door. They offered wonderful Happy Hour specials like B'zar, they offered free food, and back then we were all pretty poor so that was where we had our dinner. Houlihan's was another dance bar that would always set out hors-d'-oeuvres. That was a pretty brilliant idea because you would go straight from work to the bar, have dinner then dance the night away. Especially when Danny Stewart was there to DJ. Houlihan's ended up closing in 2019 after nearly 40 years in business.
Mac's Bar is another place that was so much fun. The bar has closed down a time or two, but most recently after shutting down their website message was changed from permanently closed to temporarily closed. Fingers crossed that they might open up this summer.
More dance hot spots in Lansing during the 80s were Sensations, CJ Barrymores, Outer Limits, Roxy's, and Slammers are just a few that come to mind. Places to dance were so popular back then, and now I can't think of even one place kids go dancing.