In the interest of squashing rumors, we would like to put an end to the one about the impending sale of Art’s bar — the local name for Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor.

That’s not a rumor. Art’s bar is for sale. Just ask owner Tim (not Art) Barr.

Barr has his bar for sale — the physical bar that is, the one that has held up many a beer and rested many an elbow. The business itself is not for sale.

The bar, which took eight men to drag out and place in front of the, eh, tavern, is now unceremoniously wrapped in a blue tarp awaiting its new owner to come down M-22 and take it home.
A CUSTOMER sits at the newly installed bar Monday at Art’s Tavern.
“There have been a lot of people asking,” said Daron Wilkes, who as a worker at Art’s has heard all these jokes before, “but not a lot of offers. They’re playing with (the idea of buying the bar), putting a little bit of history in their basement.”

The history dates back to before Tim Barr was born. “It was built in the early 1950s. I can’t remember the date the bar burned,” he said.

Then-owners Art and Mary Sheridan replaced their wooden building that was destroyed by fire with the present masonry structure. In the process, they had a long bar built that extended nearly the length of the eastern wall.

The Sheridans sold Art’s to Kathryn and Mike Wiesen in 1986. Don’t let the names fool you, however; they were mother-and-son owners. Tim Barr and Bonnie Nescott — again, don’t get trapped by the names; they actually are married — bought Art’s in 2000.

Tim Barr was a natural choice as Art’s new owner, having worked for the Wiesens at the Friendly Tavern in Empire before taking over as manager for Art’s. He’s spent a lot of time behind Art’s bar.

“That was the original bar,” said Barr, referring to the longest length of bar. “I came over in ‘86, when the Wiesens bought, and we added 10 more feet.”

The “new” bar, which connected to make an “L” at the time, with the original, created a working area for a grill. In years prior, Art’s didn’t offer food.

The bar’s long history, in fact, helped lead to its demise. Barr and Nescott didn’t figure it made sense to have Art’s go smokeless with decades of nicotine embedded in one of the establishment’s most prominent features.

“It was just time. It had sucked up enough water and smoke and things through the years that it needed to be replaced,” said Barr.
ART’S TAVERN employees Marsha Davis and Daron Wilkes stand by the old bar that served the Glen Arbor business for many years. The old bar, which was replaced by a new one, is now for sale.
Barr started talking about building a new bar with carpenter Al Perrault nearly four years ago. But Perrault, who with his wife, Esther, are former owners of a laundromat in Suttons Bay, suffered a heart attack, which set back the work. Rather than switch carpenters, Barr said he and Nescott waited for Perrault’s recovery.

“He was instrumental in getting things done, and getting things done right,” said Barr.

Wood for the bar was cut from a parcel Barr owns in Benzie County by Brent Whiteside, who owns a portable mill, and dried at PDM Lumber in Bingham Township. The bar top was built with 4 1/2-inch deep by 1 1/2-inch wide slabs of basswood glued together. The frame was built of marine plywood and covered with 1-inch cherry wainscoating. It was installed last Tuesday, some 10 days after Art’s went smokeless.

Barr said he has not set a price for the old bar, but with winter approaching he offered a suggestion: “Make an offer.”