“It’s outside on the side of the building. Look for the gold door,” said the woman behind the front desk at Courtyard by Marriott, waving me away and gesturing in the direction of an unmarked entrance on the south side of Plaza Towers, located at 201 Fulton St. W.
That was my introduction to Nightwatch Lounge, a year-old, speakeasy-style haven tucked into the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. Unassuming from the outside, the lounge is a veritable velvet-draped secret for those in the know—housing not just world-class cocktails, but a private art collection that could rival any city museum.
The collection belongs to Paulus C. Heule, a Grand Rapids real estate developer best known for his company Eenhoorn (Dutch for “unicorn”). Fitting, because this place is exactly that—rare, enchanting, and entirely one-of-a-kind. The oil paintings? All originals. A floral still life by Emanuel Ernst Gerardus van der Ven caught my eye, as did Village on the North Sea by Max Fleischer—just two among dozens. There are no empty walls awaiting decoration; every inch is curated with intention. The art would be well suited in the drawing room of a European manor-turned-museum. And that’s the beauty of it—the delightful juxtaposition of sipping a highball, surrounded by 19th-century masterpieces, just steps from a Griffins game, or a Billy Strings concert. Pure joy!…