REBIRTH AT THE TURNERS

At first, Dave Stevens was simply looking for a home for his big band. Then he talked to his father, and his plans for East Erie Turners got much bigger. It reopens Friday.

PREVIEW by Dave Richards Staff writer

Dave Richards can be reached at 870-1703 or by e-mail at dave.richards@timesnews.com

Dave Stevens originally envisioned East Erie Turners as a home for his big band, with hot jazz and sizzling swing in the Stardust Ballroom, enlivened by guest vocalists and the occasional visiting big name.

He still does. Then he realized it could be more. It could be like the Turners of old, a multi-level place with dining, sports activities for families, live music, and out-oftown bus trips. It could be like the Turners he remembered.

“I grew up coming to this club,” said Stevens, who bought the Turners — Erie’s oldest social club — with David Montgomery for approximately $300,000 earlier this year. “I came to Sunday brunch with my parents, whether I wanted to or not. And I grew up at Turnwald [the Turners summer property].

“Initially, my concept was to buy this building, make it the home of the big band, and rent out office space. But my father and I started having conversations.” What a shame, his dad remarked, that the Turners had to die after more than 100 years. “That’s when I got it into my head,” Stevens said. “Why not give them a permanent home, as well?”

EAST ERIE TURNERS — AFTER months of renovation work costing nearly $100,000 — reopens Friday. The Fountain Room at the Turners Restaurant and events at the Stardust Ballroom — which will complete its renovations by mid-summer — will be open to the public.

Everything else is open to members only, including the Turners Bar & Grill, with its gleaming hardwood and high-top tables; the six-lane basement bowling alley that’ll soon offer late-night glo-bowling; Turners Sports Bar that’ll feature indoor horseshoes, bocce, pool tables, and darts when it reopens in late fall or winter; and the Tuscany Room, the club’s designated smoking area, with a wood fireplace. The rest of the club is smoke-free.
A baby grand piano adorns the refurbished dining room, which features the chandeliers of old but spiffed up and polished. Fountains and pellet stoves were added, the walls repainted, new carpet installed, and local artwork added by Debra Kraus.

The result is an elegant, wellappointed dining room that’ll feature dishes by executive chef Charles Wise. Wise grew up in Erie, but left in 1977, working at restaurants in San Francisco, New York City, and most recently at Miami’s Fountainebleau Resort as executive banquet chef.

“It took me 30 years to rediscover Erie again — I love it,” said Wise, who’s been back about a month. “I was sick of the pretentiousness more than anything else in Miami.”
A CLUB WITH THE HISTORY OF East Erie Turners has no room for pretentiousness. Its roots lie with ethnic families and blue-collar folk. As such, Wise has assembled a menu that includes steak, chicken, lamb, pork loin, lamb shanks, and Erie perch, as well as baked Atlantic sole.

Prices range from $7.75 to $18, with members getting a slight discount. Appetizers include crab cakes, brie, and five-onion soup, and the menu also includes salads and homemade desserts such as cheesecake.

“It’s old food with a new twist, more than anything else,” Wise said. “I guarantee everything will be prepared in the back of the house as much as we can — including desserts.”

Wise said he’d been inside the Turners only once before, years earlier, for his sister’s wedding party. When he strolled in again, he was stunned by the renovations and Stevens’ grand plans.

Dave Laskowski was similarly impressed. He rejoined the Turners.
“He’s fixing the place up really nice, and I can see he’s going to take it all the way. I think it’ll do even better,” Laskowski said.

“This is the oldest club in Erie, and it’s nice it’s going to be rejuvenated instead of being pushed to the side, another landmark down the drain, like the Koehler building. He’s making an honest effort to keep something going that’s historical.”

Dale Pierce, director of Horseshoes for Life, hopes to start leagues in the late fall and winter. He, too, became a new member.

“I saw what type of place he’s running, and it appears he’s trying to do a lot, not just as a club, but for the entire community,” Pierce said. “One thing I really like is it’s smoke-free. They do have one small smoking area, but I think that’s a big advantage.”

Stevens said he plans to install outdoor security cameras, and also offers security personnel for those who would like to be escorted to their cars when they leave the club. Down the road, he plans to offer bus trips to area sporting events or casinos, and to install an elevator for the Stardust Ballroom, which is being restored to a vintage 1940s look.

Stevens envisions the club as a place where a couple could dance to his big band or other acts upstairs, while their children bowl or play darts or hang out elsewhere in the club.
“This is something I wanted to do for years,” Stevens said. “When this opportunity came along, it was a perfect marriage of preserving the Turners club and what I had envisioned I could do with the big band. So this has been a dream for years now. The possibilities are endless.”

East Erie Turners, 829 Parade St., will feature music by Howard Hamme during dinner Friday and Saturday from 6-8 p.m.; Howard Hamme Trio on Friday from 9 p.m.-midnight; and the Dave Stevens Big Band on Saturday from 7-10 p.m. Admission is free. Club Hours are Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
Fountain Room lunch hours are 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., dinner from 5-9 p.m. Reservations are recommended; call 452-2546. Special Membership Offers are available through the end of July. For prices or information, call 452-2546.