Mold Remediation in Saginaw, MI

SAGINAW, MI -- The historic Perry’s Schuch Hotel on North Hamilton Street in Old Town Saginaw has been sold, according to a Facebook post, city records and the Old Town Saginaw Association.

“The Schuch has new owners! They tell us it will take several months of renovation before it will re-open, likely as a restaurant as it was for many years,” a Facebook post from Old Town Saginaw Association said on Thursday, April 10.

City property records show the property was purchased by Metro Multi-property Management, LLC.

The purchasing company is registered on the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to Ilir Gjokaj of Troy.

Alex de Parry, president of Old Town Saginaw Association, confirmed the hotel had been purchased but didn’t have any further information.

“To the best of my information, I believe the property had been sold,” de Parry said. “I’ve confirmed this on the city assessor’s website.

Related: See inside Saginaw’s historic and supposedly haunted hotel

The hotel’s name and ownership have changed several times, and in 2021, signs posted outside the building said it was for sale by owner for $465,000.

The building, located at 301 N. Hamilton St., has a rich history. It became the Schuch Hotel in 1912 when Henry L. Schuch purchased it.

Schuch’s son then “transformed it into a revered Saginaw landmark and made it famous throughout Michigan, according to Saginaw historian Tom Trombley.

Records do not show the most recent sale price for the property.

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Another member of the Tom Izzo coaching tree has landed a job within the college basketball world. This time, it is an in state school hiring one of Izzo's former Michigan State basketball assistants.

Saginaw Valley State has made the decision to hire Chris Fowler as the school's ninth head men's basketball coach.

Fowler started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State, spending two seasons with the Spartans in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He then went on to be an assistant coach at Northern Arizona for two seasons, before reuniting with Dwayne Stephens at Western Michigan for the past three seasons.

In his playing career, Fowler was a four-time collegiate captain while at Central Michigan. He is the brother of former Spartan wide receiver legend Bennie Fowler.

Fowler is taking over for Randy Baruth, who spent the last 13 seasons as the head coach of the Cardinals basketball program.

Fowler joins Stephens, Mark Montgomery and Stan Heath as former Izzo assistants that are current college basketball coaches.

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A Michigan family is grieving after the body of a promising young artist from Saginaw was pulled from Caribbean Sea on Wednesday.

Alejandro Gonzalez went missing Sunday evening. The 20-year-old college student was spending the weekend in Cancun, Mexico. He was swimming with three lifelong friends when one of them started struggling against the current and called out for help.

Gonzalez immediately swam over and helped save the girl's life, his family said, but in the process, he was overpowered by a wave and was pulled further out to sea. It was the last time he would be seen alive.

On Wednesday, his body was found.

"He always put everyone else before himself," said his mother, Renee Gonzalez. "Even as a teenager at home, he was always trying to take care of us. So to hear that's how everything happened, it wasn't a surprise to me."

Alejandro's family, including his two younger siblings, are grieving the loss, though they are taking some solace that the agonizing three-day search that took place miles from their home is over.

"We're surrounded by family and friends who have just showed us so much love and support," Renee said. "The local community here in Saginaw has been amazing, and I'm at so much more at peace than I was three days ago."

While Renee and and her husband, Matt, lacked passports and couldn't travel to Cancun as the search unfolded, they had family there who kept them abreast of the effort and who are now in communication with the U.S. Consulate. The family is completing paperwork and hopes to have Alejandro's remains back to the U.S. sometime next week.

'A joy to know'

Alejandro was a budding artist who graduated three years ago from the Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy. He was just wrapping up his junior year at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit.

Renee said her son had a wide breadth of interests in the art world.

"He had mostly done painting and sketching but going to college, he was able to really branch out and he had taken a liking to fabric art," she said, noting he was studying the delicate art of lacemaking this year.

In 2023, he painted a utility box at the corner of Hess and Williamson in his hometown. The feline-centric piece was part of the Great Mural Project, a city-sponsored initiative that aims to beautify the city and make art more accessible.

He was musically inclined as well and had performed with the worship team at his church in Saginaw. He also played keyboard and flute, and was learning to play a hand-me-down accordion.

Just last week he bought a new instrument he wanted to learn: a harp.

A GoFundMe effort has been established to support the Gonzalez family. A GoFundMe spokesperson verified the validity of the account Thursday. As of Thursday night it had generated about $7,700 of a $10,000 goal.

A benefit spaghetti dinner has also been planned for Friday at Miles Market in Saginaw.

On the GoFundMe page, Alejandro's family said he was "a joy to know, and to hear his laugh is worth telling an unfunny joke. His laugh is infectious, as is his friendly mood and exciting disposition."

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, MI – Nestled at the spilt of State and Midland roads, an Irish-themed bar has taken over the tradition from the restaurants before it.

Holly’s Bar & Grill, 6540 State Street, opened about six months ago by owners Al and Holly Beaudin.

At the time, Al Beaudin said the couple was retired. However, they acquired the property about a year and a half ago.

“There’s a lot of history on this corner. It’s kind of where people’s grandparents socialized and great, great grandparents socialized,” Beaudin said.

Beaudin recalls the three restaurants that came before Holly’s, all of which were popular Irish-themed spots for families to dine at and watch sports.

The previous restaurant, Patty Flemings Irish Pub, suffered a fire, so when the Beaudins bought it, Beaudin said there was just one wall standing, so they rebuilt the building from the ground up.

“I would describe it as a great place to eat, a great place to have fun and socialize and have a drink,” Beaudin said. “Even though it’s not the same building, there’s still a lot of history.”

Patty Flemings was named after one of the owners, Patty Fleming, so Beaudin said they wanted to continue that tradition by naming their establishment after Holly Beaudin.

The food menu has been a hit since they opened. Their menu features mostly made-from-scratch items, including their soups and coleslaw.

Some of the most popular items are the char-grilled chicken wings, burgers and flatbreads.

Holly’s Bar & Grill’s manager, Jason Zaremba, brought the recipes to the restaurant. Zaremba worked as the manager for Patty Fleming’s for about 16 years before it closed its Saginaw Township location.

“Jason does an amazing job, he’s fussy about his food,” assistant manager Becky Gilson said. “Crab chowder is the best you’re going to find anywhere.”

Each seat in the restaurant offers a view of a 75-inch television, making it a perfect spot to catch a game while enjoying a meal.

To pair with your meal, Holly’s Bar & Grill offers drink specials depending on the season.

The happy hour runs from right when they open at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, Al Beaudin said.

There is also a patio with the indoor bar opening via a garage door to be able to enjoy the best of both.

Holly’s Bar & Grill does take reservations for groups of eight or more and can be reached at (989) 401-1668.

Currently, the eateri is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Once the warmer weather is here to stay, Al Beaudin said they will be open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

To see up-to-date information, check out the Holly’s Bar & Grill Facebook page here.

Would you like MLive to feature your favorite restaurant in Michigan’s Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Kaytie Boomer at kboomer@mlive.com.

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