Lucky's Pub on Midland Street, where you can get a Train Wreck, foosball or some kind of screwdriver

Lucky's and the Westown

The hairy guy's report:

A neighbor tells about moving to town awhile back. She and her then-husband unloaded stuff, then went to Midland Street for the sort of thing people do there.

Eventually driving home from Lucky's Pub, an officer pulled her over, somehow sensing a DUI. After checking her out-of-state driver's license, he announced, while snapping on the cuffs: "Welcome to Bay City!" 

Just recently, Harry had a fine afternoon at Lucky's, meeting a bunch of friends for a feast of chicken wings and beer before heading to a poker game. He had no run-ins with the law. But he did have a lousy night at cards. Meanwhile, the friends went off to play trivia at another local bar -- and they lost.

There seems to be a pattern here, raising an ominous question: Is a visit to a place called Lucky's pushing your luck?

To be fair, Harry has had other bad nights at poker. The trivia players lose more often than they win anyway. Drinking too much, wherever you do it, is drinking too much. And nothing bad happened after Harry's second visit, unless you count the snow that night.

So, while you may not get lucky at Lucky's, we can't say the night will end badly for you.

Lucky's, by the way, gets its name from Lucky's Record Shop, which once occupied the space and was named for an owner whose nickname was Lucky.

This a classy place, by our standards, where the beer posters are framed, not taped up. And a bunch of big-screen TVs don't all show sports; one shows the History Channel. The nice old

Wayne on the job

wooden bar is said to come from the Commodore Bar, which once upon a time was at Columbus and Washington.

The only thing currently on tap is Bud Light; it's $2 until 7 p.m., then $2.50, and $3 after 9 p.m. on weekends. For happy hour, 5-8 p.m., domestic beers are $1. (Got all that?) Wayne, a daytime bartender and food manager, says six beers are usually on tap but something broke.

Other times behind the bar you might find Amber, who raises chickens and sells their eggs when she's not working.

A cooler holds assorted bottled brews. Harry tried one, called Train Wreck, just because he liked the name -- which, come to think of it, might explain why so many craft beers have goofy names. Train Wreck, an amber ale from Mountain Town Brewing Co. in Mt. Pleasant, has 8.2% alcohol and claims to be brewed with maple syrup and honey. It was $4. A respectable Manhattan was also $4.

A short food menu includes a burger ($4.25), hot dog ($3), chicken sandwich ($5), fries, onion rings and wings. Pizza ($2 a slice) is available on weekends.

But other things might also be available, depending on what Wayne has going on. We took

Amber behind the bar at Lucky's

him up on an offer of a 50/50 burger (with a meat patty that's half beef and half ground bacon), complete with cheese and mushrooms. It was huge and cost about half of the 50/50 burger at an upscale downtown joint. Wayne also likes to mix drinks and offered a shot of Key Lime Pie, which actually smells and tastes like a key lime pie.
 
For games, there are foosball, an electronic golf game and a bar-top electronic console with assorted options. And a state lottery machine.

A vending machine offers what are billed as Bloody Mary-flavored potato chips ($1 a bag), though they didn't taste much like Bloody Marys, and cigarettes ($10 a pack!). Various dispensers hold Red Stag, Crown Royal Regal Apple, Fireball and popcorn.

Lucky's is open by noon every day and always stays open until 2 a.m. There's dancing with a DJ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

It's also connected to the well-maintained Westown Theater, a.k.a. Club Electronic, which is

Doorway from Lucky's to the Westown

open Friday and Saturday nights; club entrance is through the bar.

Lucky's, by the way, sits on a corner -- Midland and Linn -- that's full of possibilities.

Directly across Midland Street is the River Rock Cafe, one of the many bars on the street. Across Linn are Unclaimed Freight and an atractive old building with a "for rent" sign.

Gazing at Unclaimed Freight, Harry was reminded that he recently read a book on the history of the screwdriver. Really, he did. It was a gift from his wife. Some years back, he enjoyed a book on the history of the pencil, so she actually put some thought into the gift.

But the only good thing Harry found about the screwdriver book, called "One Good Turn," was the title.  He had hopes about midway through, with the introduction of Phillips heads, but that was about as good as it got.

Standing in front of Lucky's, Harry recalled all that as he looked around, figuring this might be the best corner in town for screwdrivers -- an assortment available at Unclaimed Freight, which is a good hardware store, and the tastier sort at Lucky's. And if you're looking for a screw -- well, certainly Unclaimed Freight has a wide assortment of those, too.

Across Linn is a place called Very Fun Things that had an "open" sign turned on but drapes mysteriously covering the windows. We were tempted to wander in but decided it didn't look like much fun. (According to the store's Facebook page, it's an arcade room.) And beyond that is Cafe Cremosi, a surprisingly great Italian restaurant.

Next door to the River Rock is an insurance company office that must not have been getting much business that first afternoon we stopped in at Lucky's, since we found the insurance agent in a seat near the end of the bar.

A visit to Lucky's is (pardon the pun) apparently a good policy after all.

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See Doc’s report: It's a great bartender who makes a bar great, as one shows again in a visit toLucky's and the Westown

  The particulars:
  Lucky's Pub
  615 E. Midland
  989-895-9005