GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Decorations now cover almost every inch of space inside Broadway Bar in Grand Rapids.
Bartender Tom Schuitema started decorating back in the late 1990’s as a way to brighten people’s spirits during the holidays.
“Started off real small, you know, up in the front, and it just grew and grew and grew,” Schuitema told FOX 17. “I kept bringing my toys down.”
He’s been collecting and displaying Christmas items since he was a young boy. He says, after his parents split up, it was a way to bring himself joy.
“I love looking at it. I do it at home. I just love looking at it— brightens my day,” he added.
Now, Schuitema’s customers have started helping with the collection by bringing him decorations.
“I promised you last year I was going to bring you an ornament, and this lady brought me a little Pinocchio that was her grandmother’s. I put that away at home, my basement in my museum,” he said.
“We were here last year, and we loved it so we’re back again,” Judy Fein from Shelbyville said. “And then we’re going to be coming back Friday to bring somebody else.”
It takes Schuitema about six weeks to fill the bar with all the decorations. He says he could fit even more in if the owner would let him.
“I can still be putting stuff up. She tells me, ‘stop…That’s enough. I haven’t got an inch left.’ I can put something else there,” Schuitema said.
Schuitema says it’s all worth it to see the smiles on his customers’ faces.
“This is Christmas. It’s time to put smiles on people’s faces. That’s what we’re trying to do. I had a guy come in yesterday and he handed me a nice tip, and he says, ‘I want you to have this just because you put a smile on my face.’ He says, ‘I needed it today,’ and that kind of hit me right there,” he added.
Reservations at Broadway Bar are already booked through the month of December, so it might be tough to get a table.
Now, because of the popularity, the bar is trying to decide on whether to leave the decorations up year-round.
