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Sneakers, the only nightclub in Alpena shuts down

The only nightclub in Alpena shuts down after running for about 15 years. Sneakers made its first public announcement about the closing on June 22. Management will either transform Sneakers into a sports or music bar – without a DJ.

We are announcing that next weekend will be the last weekend Sneakers will be open as a dance club. After that we will…

Posted by Sneakers on Friday, June 22, 2018

“A lot of the information isn’t really ironed out yet,” says bartender Joshua Bonello. “There’s still a lot of talks about what’s going on.”

Sneakers eliminated it’s nighttime dance scene, but it will remain as a daytime bar inside the Ramada Inn with scaled back business hours.

“We’ve always had a business during the week,” says Bonello. “It’s never going away. I don’t think it’s ever going away. The bar is still here. The restaurant’s still here.”

Some people may be excited for Sneakers’ future change, but many Facebook users who commented online are not on-board. Kaitlyn Shultz posted:

“Too many bars in Alpena, the one thing Sneakers offered that the other bars didn’t was being a club. This is sad!”

As Sneakers plan to make their next move, they say what’s to come will be better for bartenders and customers.

“Be patient,” says Bonello. “It’s going to take time. It’s not going to be instant.”

On Sunday, July 1 at 2 a.m., the last DJ to work the turntables at Sneakers spun the the last track.

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