Business Matters: Johnnie Mae’s Lounge Opening Jan. 18 in Robbinsdale
Just days from a grand opening, Andre Bell is on the verge of living out a dream.
“It took a lot of getting it together,” said Bell, who gave CCX News a tour of the new Johnnie Mae’s Lounge, located at 4080 West Broadway, Suite 101, in Robbinsdale.
The new food and entertainment venue plans to open Jan. 18.
“We got a stage where we’re going to do live entertainment,” said Bell, mentioning comedy nights and karaoke. “We have a dance floor where you be able to get your boogie on.”
Bell said he also plans to build a room for virtual reality gaming entertainment.
As owner, Bell said he wanted a place where families could have fun like his parents did.
“One of the things my father and my mom used to do, they used to party a lot and they used to get together,” remembered Bell. “That was one way of bringing family together.”
Andre Bell points out the dance floor inside Johnnie Mae’s Lounge.
In Memory of Johnnie Mae
The venue is named in honor of Bell’s mother, Johnnie Mae Bell, who passed away Feb. 27, 2022.
“At the time of her passing, it sparked me to live this dream out,” said Bell.
Renovating the venue to make it ready for opening wasn’t easy. The location inside Town Center shopping complex had sat vacant for three years.
“There was a lot of things we had to do to get the building up to code,” said Bell. “We had to do a lot of things, paperwork, a whole lot of things we didn’t even know what we was doing at first. And we had to learn as we go.”
In realizing that dream, Bell had to let it sink in.
“The struggle that it took to get to this place, it was like, once we got the okay for everything, all the money was there, I just cried,” Bell said. “It was very emotional for me.”
The Jan. 18 opening date carries special meaning for Bell and his siblings. That’s the date of their mother’s birthday.
Photo of Andre’s parents, Johnnie Mae and Carl Bell.
