A Grand Rapids Restaurant You Didn’t Know Existed: Quite a History!

Here's a great blast from the past in the dining history of Grand Rapids. There were so many fine restaurants downtown back in the day that of course, are long gone. One special place that you may never have heard of was Bauman's Café.

Why was it special? Bauman's, located in the Powers' Opera House block on Pearl Street, was specifically a ladies' dining room, quite the place for the ladies at the turn of the century as these pictures were taken in 1902.

According to the website Historydaily.org, back then, between the 1800s and early 1900s, it was deemed scandalous for a lady to dine alone. The chances of finding a restaurant that would serve them without the company of a man were pretty slim; only women of ill-repute ate alone, but occasionally, respectable ladies who were traveling alone or in town to shop or attend church got hungry. Really? Ya think?

So "ladies' ordinary," the women-only dining areas sprang up in American restaurants and hotels to give proper ladies a nice place to eat. Here in Grand Rapids, that was Bauman's.

Then the roaring 20s hit, and America charged into some big changes. Women got the right to vote, and more and more were working outside the home. And, by the end of the decade, most restaurants welcomed the ladies, man or not!

Whatever happened to Bauman's and Powers' Opera House? Bauman's faded away quietly, but Powers Theatre was a legit theater and was what you might consider the forerunner to Broadway Grand Rapids.

Broadway plays ran for a week or so at the Powers. Check out the actor third from the top in the play The Bootleggers in 1924.

In the early 40s, it became the Midtown Theater when Jack Loeks took it over - one of the many movie houses in downtown Grand Rapids.

In the early 70s, urban renewal struck, theaters were moving to the suburbs and the Midtown sadly closed and was torn down.

So, then what happened? Of course, it became a parking lot, but we know it now as an Ellis Parking Garage!