The likelihood that what for decades was a venerable Win Schuler's road house restaurant and was later converted into a popular sports bar will ever be a restaurant again is increasingly in doubt as the owners of the 5 O'Clock Sports Bar in Stevensville have placed everything in the house on the auction block today in a total on-line liquidation through Biddergy.com in Kalamazoo.
This is your last chance to grab a little slice of memorabilia from the property if you bid by 8pm tonight and win your bid. Some 14 pages of restaurant equipment, furniture, glassware and more comprise the lock, stock, and steam tables of two once highly successful enterprises that have faded into the folklore of Michigan's Great Southwest.
Co-owner Michael Wittlieff tells me that after more than a year and a half on the market they just have been unable to successfully attract another restaurateur or bar aficionado into buying the business as a turn-key opportunity. While the Wittlieff family has received a number of interested offers, they have all been for the building and property alone, not as a restaurant or bar. So, rather than continue to bang their heads against that wall, they elected to place the entire contents of the restaurant and bar onto the auction market through Biddergy.com today. Wittlieff says that by clearing things out they can reconfigure their price and selling stragegy going forward to find a buyer.
The one day only, on-line only, auction started at 8am this morning and ends at 8pm tonight unless there is an ongoing bidding war over any particular item or any individual lot. Clicking the link below will take you to the detailed description and photos of everything that is on the market today from the two beautiful bars themselves, one a large wooden bar and the other a smaller copper-top bar…to a portable dance floor. You'll also find nearly two dozen televisions, a massive array of commercial kitchen gear from coolers, freezers and steam tables to utensils, dishes and more. There are also large lots of New Year party supplies, Halloween and Christmas decorations, and dozens of chairs, tables and other furniture options.
The 5 O'Clock closed for good on Sunday, May 31, 2015…and the property has been on the local real estate market ever since. Despite persistent rumors that an Olive Garden was going in there and other such fairy tales, the Witlieff family has come up short in efforts to tee the property up in turn-key fashion for a would be restaurateur or any other interested party wishing to capitalize on the heritage of the building.
The large-scale, two-level, restaurant and bar at 5000 Red Arrow Highway across from the Stevensville Meijer store and fronting onto I-94, has been a roadhouse for comfort food for decades dating back to the early days as Win Schuler's and later as simply Schuler's before being closed down by the Schuler family and making way for the eventual arrival of the 5 O'Clock team in early January of 2006. They closed down after a nine-year run at the end of May last year.
If you're interested in a small bit of memorabilia or need restaurant gear and supplies for your own establishment, click the link below to take a look at everything up for bids…the current bid amount…and how to get in on the action…but remember, it all ends at 8pm tonight, Thursday, December 15, 2016.
