Saginaw junior Jenny Gerhardt was only in Coco Joe’s for one night before she formed an opinion about it.

“I think it’s the nicest bar in Mount Pleasant,” Gerhardt said.

Gerhardt and her friends were just a few of the students who flocked to the city’s newest bar this weekend.

Coco Joe’s opened its doors to the public Friday.

And it’s just what Mount Pleasant needs, said Cheryl Hunter, the restuarant’s creator and founder.

“‘Eatertainment’ is what we call this,” she said. “Eating with entertainment.”

The pirate-themed dueling piano bar, located at 4855 E. Bluegrass Road, offers a variety of décor and a full line of craft beers, Hunter said.

Hunter said Coco Joe’s will be open from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. for all ages. From 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. the bar is open to 21 and up. Meals will not be served after 9:30, but “bar bites” will be available until close.

The dueling pianists offer customers the chance to request songs, keeping it “PG” from 7 to 9 p.m., and get a little louder for the older crowd, Hunter said.

Flushing junior Dan Reinbold, a dueling piano player for Coco Joe’s, said he knows 80 songs or more.

“I’ve played the piano for five years, but just got into dueling,” he said.

Dueling songs are considered top 40 hits from 1960 to the present, Reinbold said.

“The piano guys are great and fun,” Gerhardt said. “They play what you want them to play.”

Livonia senior Amy Sund said the cave seating was her favorite part of the restaurant, but she wished there were drink specials available.

Portland graduate assistant Allison Barnes, a Coco Joe’s hostess, said she thinks Coco Joe’s is non-traditional but family-friendly.

Hunter, who also opened and designed The Cabin, 930 W. Broomfield St., and O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill and Wayside Central, 2000 S. Mission St. said she considers the employees to be part of the Hunter family.

Joneil Cook, Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce interim president and CEO, said the new establishments being built, including Coco Joe’s, are nothing but positive for Mount Pleasant and its economy. She also said she assumes they will create more jobs for students.

“(Coco Joe’s) is specifically unique and it’s cool to see something new,” Cook said. “We’re constantly seeing new projects presented to city council.”

The new Wet Monkey Sub Shack will be right in next to Coco Joe’s with the motto “all things different,” Hunter said.

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