Jeff Daniels’ new Chelsea venue and restaurant will have 1920s chandelier, art deco marquee

CHELSEA, MI — A handcrafted cherry wood door and 1920s-style chandelier are among the distinctive features in Jeff Daniels’ new music venue and restaurant in Chelsea.

The developers have released new project details as construction is underway at JD’s Stage Bistro, 117 ½ S. Main St., a short distance from Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre.

“Bringing a 20-year-old dream to life involves imagination and the careful shaping of physical space,” Aaron Vermeulen, lead designer and principal at architecture firm O|X Studio, based in Ann Arbor, said in a statement. “It all started with an old door on Main Street … I knew it would take an entire team, from a meticulous door maker to a supportive community with a shared vision, to make this project possible.”

The goal of the new music venue and restaurant is to “evoke old memories to create new ones, using design that honors Chelsea’s past while setting the stage for exceptional music,” according to the statement.

Vermeulen said the city’s history inspires much of the forthcoming bistro’s design and he wants the new site to be a “social place that people discover music and discover friends.”

Read more: Jeff Daniels’ new Chelsea music venue is to be ‘more than just a restaurant with his name’

Vermeulen said the idea to use the Main Street space and “enter into this beautiful cellar” came 20 years ago. The entrance of the Main Street building was reworked, in part with a new door, but the project delayed due to the 2008 financial crisis.

“It just went on hold and it just became this quiet, big fairy door,” Vermeulen said. He said the door came from another building in Chelsea.

Patrons will first see the cherry wood door with a stained-glass image of an olive in a martini glass at the entrance. An Art Deco-inspired marquee displaying upcoming artists and community events will adorn the front.

“From the moment guests step inside, we want them to feel transported,” Vermeulen said.

A staircase will lead down to the stage lobby and open up into the stage room and bistro.

The stage room will be “intimate, moody, and cinematic,” with a corner stage, vintage cocktail bar and cabaret-style seating, which will promote the feel of a traditional listening room, according to the developers.

Stone walls in the stage room are to pay tribute to Chelsea’s history, and Edison phonograph horns will be repurposed as lighting. The room will also have a hidden green room and backstage seating.

Vermeulen said Chelsea residents have donated personal items that honor the city’s history to the bistro.

The bistro will feature a custom wood-fired oven and a custom wood-fired oven and mahogany doors from New York City will frame the main kitchen.

Folding glass doors will create a screened-in patio with an ancillary kitchen and three bars for diners, concertgoers and private events.

The venue will also have vaulted rooms throughout, with the largest being the Newsroom, featuring a wine vault, private bar, chandeliers and adaptive lighting.

The 42-by-22-foot Newsroom, with capacity for 60 guests, will pay homage to the TV series of the same name, in which Daniels stars. It could host rehearsal dinners, office parties and community events, Vermeulen previously said.

The Vinyl Lounge will offer a secluded lounge for unfiltered vinyl listening, which the developers call “a testament to the project’s commitment to music in its most authentic form.”

Vermeulen previously said the Vinyl Lounge will accommodate 30 guests.

JD’s Stage Bistro will spotlight Chelsea’s historical artifacts, music memorabilia and tributes to Daniels’ career.

“What began as an idea behind an old Main Street door is becoming a fully realized experience,” Vermeulen said in the statement. “Every design decision reflects Chelsea’s history, character, and the community we love.”

He credits Nathaniel Stanton, principal of structural engineering consulting firm Craft | Engineering Studio, for helping him support his architectural projects.

The bistro will sit just about a tenth of a mile west of Daniels’ theater at 137 Park St. Daniels, who grew up in Chelsea, founded it in 1991.

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