Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

A popular bar-restaurant and entertainment spot for the last four years in downtown Brighton has announced it will be closing its doors at the end of the month - at least temporarily.

Ginopolis Bar-Bq, at 201 West Main St., stated Thursday on social media that it will be closing its doors at the end of the day on July 31st. The announcement is more revealing when it states that, quote, “Construction on Main St. has slowed our business to an unsustainable pace and because of this we will be closed - at least until the project is finished.”

The statement is a reference to the $6.5 million Streetscape project to completely change the look of Brighton’s downtown - with new, narrower streets, wider sidewalks, numerous improvements to Mill Pond Park, replacement of century-old water mains, new crosswalks, brighter LED lighting and other upgrades. A Detroit TV station recently reported that some merchants said they have lost up to 40% of their business because of the project, which has made access to downtown stores sometimes problematic.

Ginopolis had already gone through one brief closure during its tenure in Brighton, changing in April to a country bar with line dancing called Cowgirls Country Bar & Grill. That apparently didn’t go over well because two months later, in June, it was announced that the old Ginopolis name would be back - although line dancing classes and open dance floor nights would continue.

Ginopolis Restaurant was a staple in Farmington Hills for 37 years and had a loyal clientele - some of whom went out of their way to travel to Brighton and continue to enjoy the bar-restaurant's good food and homey atmosphere. Although they were an initial success in Brighton, the COVID pandemic slowed business down considerably. They were finally starting to recover when, this past January, the Streetscape project began. That quickly eroded the ability of customers to get to the many stores and restaurants in “old downtown” - meaning the part on Main Street which comprises the Streetscape project.

In making Thursday's announcement, the Ginopolis family stated that, in their words, “After the project is finished, we may no longer be here.” That implies they are looking for a new location, and not necessarily in Brighton. Again, quoting from the statement, “We are unsure of our future at the moment but we do appreciate our past.” The Ginopolis family added that, “All of Brighton’s love and support over the years has been nothing short of exceptional.”

City officials have stated numerous times that although the Streetscape work has admittedly caused some temporary loss of business for merchants, the end result will be well worth the momentary pain. The project, although a couple of weeks behind schedule, is expected to be completed by the end of November, given favorable weather.