I've been going to The Loft since 2005 and it's the only place in Flint where I would go for drink by myself without fearing for my life. This bar is definitely the Cheers of Flint for me. When I go there, no matter the night, even on a random Sunday, I run into at least 5 regulars and they're always so cheerful. Rodney the owner is my homeboy for life and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've seen the place transitioning from a dim, small bar with a rugged feel to something more than a bar but not as obnoxious as a nightclub. I hope this place always stays open because of it's history and diversity.
Review Source:Who doesn't love 90's Indie music streaming from the speakers, a kick ass bartender serving me Stella in a gold rim glass and a huge jizz stain on the pool table? God knows I loved it. This place is a chill hole in the wall in downtown Flint. They have a lounge area (where the pool table is) with some comfy retro chairs in the front and then the bar area in the back. A great pit stop before you head to the Torch bar in the back alley behind it.
Review Source:Not bad...and not great. The loft is a place I wouldn't really seek out to go to, but if your in the area it's not bad ( well the parking is..make sure you get a lighted highly visible spot!). It's kind of like a dive bar...sans hipsters..and replaced with hip hop and booty shaking music. There are pool tables and a few places to sit and chat in the front of the bar, the dance area is kind of squeezed in so you have to make your own "get down space." A very eclectic crowd, although most patrons seemed to be younger (I'm 26). Not bad Downtown flint!
Review Source:I love hanging out in Flint when I return to my hometown. Â I came here over Christmas break with my best friend and had an absolute blast! Â The DJ was cranking out R & B tunes from the 90's and I loved every minute of it. Â The bartenders were cute and very prompt in service. Â The drinks were strong and decently priced.
A man that looked as if he pimped since he was 16 was hustling the pool table and let me jump in on his game - I appreciate a man who wears gold chains and rose colored shades at midnight. Â
Ahhh yes. Â Thank you Flint.
I'm only giving it 2 stars because way back when I was sort of an almost regular. Â I didn't hang out in it so much as I hung out around it. Â How so? Â Because back in my Flint tromping days it was like a big playground. Â Friends of mine lived nearby and so we would create our own fun walking around the almost dead city, drinking wine, or 40s of Mickeys or god-forbid Big-Bear.
I'm going to tell my Big Bear story here. Â There was a store that sold Big Bear malt liquor in Downtown Flint - as dangerous as Downtown was rumored to be we used to walk all over the place, climbing buildings and exploring hidden places. Â I have never even been close to feeling like I was in any danger. Â So this store had a special: three 40s of Big Bear for $4.50 Â Talk about a mess. Â You know how sometimes you've been sitting wrong too long and your foot or leg falls asleep and you have to shake the blood back into it?
Well this is the ONLY beer I have ever drank where when I woke up in the morning it felt as if half my head, the side I was sleeping on, was asleep; and that happened twice! Â Ya - So just don't.
Oh ya, I was talking about the loft. Â I mean... Â The owner is like this guy who trys to act like he's a Gangster - like he owns this little crap-hole in a broken city and he spends way too much time here. Â He would hire girls to get them behind the bar and try to make the moves on them and didn't get his way the chick was "let go." Â I have heard this story so many times from different girls I started telling them before they told me. Â There was a saying amongst many that I talked to - "Rodney's a d*****bag."
When I moved out of the Flint area like 3 years ago I remember there was construction going on out front of the loft. Â There was this big dumpster right next to the door and the sidewalk was all torn up. Â I went back 2 years later for some business and did a driveby. Â Yes, there was still a big dumpster out in front of the door and the sidewalk was still torn up.
And the bar wasn't that great but there were some cool people that frequented the place - I wouldn't say social outcasts like Bruce, actually some of the coolest people in Flint would come here from time to time. Â It's just a crappy bar with overpriced drinks and Yes - the DJs do tend to be Terrible. Â The ONLY reason, I think, people would come here is because it was right smack dab in the middle of downtown. Â Some people, myself included, like City-Life.
I only give it 2 stars because once my friends and I were drunk we always seemed to manage going in to see who we could find. Oh and the music they sometimes got in there. Â They would get some pretty good bands in there. Â Too bad I would have to hear stories later about why they refused to play there anymore because of the owner shorting them or some other sad story. Â
If you want to go to a Bar in Downtown Flint for whatever reason, the Torch is right across the alley and within walking distance. Â If you like dive bars, you may like this place. Â Just understand, it's a bar that's trying to pretend it's not a dive bar even though it is.
I came here with a group of friends, and for a night we owned it. Â It has a neighborhood feel on a slow night, laid back, kinda like everyone knows you and you're the cool kid on the block rather than the drama queen. Â That's how I like it. Â We just bought round after round after round. Â They made our car bombs out of Bushmill's whiskey which was a huge plus!
I love dive bars and I wouldn't call this one a dive exactly, but the atmosphere is definitely NOT one where you want to drink expensive specialty martinis and eat tapas while toting your designer bag around. Â It's more like the place that gets really cozy when you go there regularly. Â Torn jeans, comfy white T-shirt, your busted Cons. Â I definitely would go do some major chugging with my Flint town crew if I was back around there.
What a joke this place it.
I went here on the recommendation of someone else. Â I don't know wTF kind of crack they were smoking, but it was NOTHING like they hyped it to be.
The musical "talent" had anything but. Â the "DJ" was worse.
drinks were watered down, no food menu at all.
parking is downtown Flint's "finest", so I hope you keep your starving Rottweiler in your car while you are patronizing the establishment.
the "scenery" is mostly social outcasts and locals with nowhere else better to go.
the space is small and cramped.
1 star is being generous.
While I can't argue with some of the previously stated points about the Loft, it does not serve to lessen the experience of being a regular there, starting when it was the Backroom, thru the Kelly's phase and into the Loft era. I never found Buckham alley all that scary but I also cut my drinking teeth up and down it from Churchills to The Backroom and The Torch. If you want upscale, go elsewhere, but if you want down to earth, diverse, and cantankerous company (and often live/DJ music) then suck it up and do downtown.
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