This family band helped jazz up Grand Rapids’ Bridge Street from gritty to great

Originally published by MLive

By Danielle James | djames@mlive.com & Melissa Frick | mfrick@mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – As a grade school student, Jes Gutowski-Slaydon recalls planting flowers along the Bridge Street corridor and getting catcalled “all the time.”

“It was just a very different, gritty vibe,” Gutowski-Slaydon described of the area – but she said she’s always loved it.

“I’ve always felt very safe and comfortable on Bridge Street.”

While Bridge Street is now regarded by many as a top corridor for West Michigan nightlife, that wasn’t always the case.

An assortment of what once was consignment shops and sex stores began to be replaced in the mid-2010s, with the addition of New Holland Brewing in 2014 as part of a $17 million mixed-use development with housing on top of the brewery.

Over the past two decades, development groups like Rockford Construction have worked alongside families like Gutowski-Slaydon’s to continue the revitalization of Bridge Street – using their Bridge Street Band, creating area running clubs and refurbishing neon signs.

RELATED: Bridge Street is booming: How it became one of Grand Rapids' hottest nightspots

The vision for revitalizing Bridge Street

Growing up, Gutowski-Slaydon’s parents owned and operated Swift Printing, a long-time family business located on Bridge Street. But in the 1980s, her father Walt Gutowski Jr. also began buying up other properties on the block, including the buildings where two relatively new bars – Drip Drop Cocktail Room and General Wood Shop – are now housed.

Gutowski-Slaydon said it was because her family “really believed in the street” and wanted to see it returned to its former glory.

Gutowski Jr., a former Grand Rapids city commissioner, said he wanted to revitalize the area of the city where his parents met and hung out.

“My vision is to really just bring back Bridge Street to the glory that it once had,” he said. “It already has the bones, and so my vision is really a journey back in time to what it was, where everyone came together on Bridge Street.”

Josh Lunger, vice president of government affairs for the Grand Rapids Chamber, said he can attribute part of the success of corridors like Bridge Street to families like Gutowski’s.

“I think our community benefits in a lot of ways from folks… that might not get the headlines all the time, but they’re consistently working to say, ‘How can I make my neighborhood or my street better?’”

The Gutowski family refurbished a “Red Lion” neon sign in 2022, installing it in the parking lot they own across the street from New Holland Brewing.

RELATED: Historic Red Lion sign returning to Bridge Street in Grand Rapids in time for ArtPrize

Gutowski Jr. said the sign is one of the oldest porcelain neon signs in the country, and it represents the old Red Lion restaurant he said showcased the welcoming culture of Bridge Street.

In addition to fixing up properties and planting flowers, Gutowski-Slaydon said her family has really worked to transform the culture of Bridge Street, something they’ve accomplished largely through live music with their own Bridge Street Band.

From Amway’s band to Bridge Street Band

The six-person Bridge Street Band was started by Gutowski Jr. when he was in high school, and was originally called Sundaze.

When the Amway Grand Plaza opened, Gutowski said his band, specializing in jazz music, was selected to play at hotel events.

As Gutowski and his wife focused their attention on Bridge Street, the band changed with them and was renamed The Bridge Street Band.

Gutowski-Slaydon said the band, which has since expanded to include her vocals, is a diverse mix from all walks of life.

At one point, Gutowski Jr. said Bridge Street was one of the best places to hear jazz in the country, with the Mousetrap Cocktail Lounge boasting live music until a fire on Feb. 13, 1985, claimed the building and killing six residents.

“All the great musicians that came through Grand Rapids going between Detroit and Chicago played there,” he said.

Now, Gutowski Jr. said Bridge Street is again becoming a place where people can come together, listen to music and enjoy each other’s company.

“Everyone is welcome here,” he said.

Bridge Street now

Now that Bridge Street continues to expand and draw patrons from across the city, Gutowski-Slaydon said it’s exciting to see others finally understand the hype.

“So many milestones of my life have happened on Bridge Street,” she said. “So I am here for the party.”

She feels like a big part of Bridge Street’s success thus far is the commitment from business owners in the area.

“It appears that a lot of people here on Bridge Street are really thinking about the long term, and want to see the legacy continue,” Gutowski-Slaydon said. “They’re thinking generations out, because a lot of them are family businesses as well.”