Glen’s to close bar, remain open for private events

Glen Bynum says he will stop opening his namesake bar in Corporate Square on a daily basis after Saturday and will begin to market the building as a venue for private events. “Things have kind of slowed down, and we just didn’t get the support we were looking for here. So we just have to make some changes,” Bynum says. “We’re not shutting down and going away, because we made a large investment in making this a really nice facility. This is just a change of focus.” Bynum completely renovated the 2,500-square-foot space before opening Glen’s in late 2011 as a reincarnation of the former Glen’s Bombay Club that was open in Corporate Square (then called Esplanade Mall) from 1992 to 1999. No stranger to the bar business, Bynum says he’s operated 22 different bars over the past 40 years. But the industry has changed, he says, and it’s not what it used to be. “The whole bar atmosphere is different now than it was 30 or 40 years ago,” he says. “Restaurants are still doing very well, but it’s hard to make it just as a bar.” Bynum says customers increasingly cite rising DWI arrests and checkpoints as the main reasons why they stay home rather than go out for a drink. “We just have to look for different avenues for the facility,” he says. “We think a venue for private functions—holiday parties, business events and that sort of thing—will be well-received and hopefully business will be better.” —Steve Sanoski