Bennigan's renovated in December; first update since opening
Customers dining at Mount Pleasant's Bennigan's may notice some significant changes to the decor and atmosphere.
Bennigan’s, 2424 S. Mission St., was closed for two weeks in December during the renovation.
The restaurant's management hoped the 21st century decor would attract more customers, said CEO Jeff Neely.
“We wanted to present the residents and college students of Mount Pleasant a fresh new restaurant," Neely said.
The restaurant was originally built between September 1996 and February 1997 by Konwinski Construction Inc., a company that has done projects with the food chain for more than 20 years. Bennigan's had not gone through a corporate renovation since its grand opening.
Project Manager Joe Flemming said they started tearing down walls on Dec. 13 and finished the job 10 days later. The restaurant officially re-opened on Dec. 27.
“We worked hand-in-hand with the management staff,” Flemming said.
Meetings were held throughout the project so everyone knew what had to be done, Neely said.
One of the most astounding things about the project, Flemming said, was that they did a job that would have normally taken three months.
“The team coordinated the entire process together,” said Bennigan's Division Manager Dave Kitchen. “This was a company effort.”
Before, the restaurant interior had been out-of date. Its last cosmetic renovation had been between five and 10 years ago, said General Manager Steve Mumich.
The bar had also felt closed-up because of the storage units hanging over customers' heads, he said. Everything was torn down and the open space allowed them to add HD flat-screen TVs. An additional 30 seats were also added with the new furniture setting.
With the fashion-relevant interior design, Bennigan's hopes to become more appealing to groups of all ages, Mumich said.
Aside from achieving great customer satisfaction, another goal was to keep up with the competition, he said.
The old bar tap system was changed and is now suspended from the ceiling, he said, which is supposed to serve people cleaner, tastier beer.
“They have some of those (prototypes) in California. I think we might be the first ones in Michigan to use them," Mumich said.
