Lakeside Inn rises again from Hollywood flames and after being shuttered for years

Middletown business owner ready for grand opening at storied location.
Lakeside Inn on Tytus Avenue in Middletown. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Lakeside Inn on Tytus Avenue in Middletown. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

A Middletown neighborhood hangout with a storied past dating back to the 1920s has risen from the ashes of a Hollywood movie to become the Lakeside Inn 2.0.

No, it didn’t burn for real, but is sure looked like it during the 2022 filming of “The Bikeriders,” scheduled for release in theaters June 21.

This image released by Focus Features shows Damon Herriman, left, and Tom Hardy in a scene from "The Bikeriders." (Focus Features via AP)

Credit: AP

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Credit: AP

On Saturday, June 15, the Mack family — dad Brian, and children Josh and Sierra Mack — will officially throw open the doors for the grand reopening of the Macks Lakeside Inn at 2019 Tytus Ave. Festivities begin at 5 p.m.

The tavern was built in 1921, and it catered to the “Lakeside neighborhood” residents — and some notorious people as well — for decades. Story goes Clyde Barrow stopped for a drink before his crime spree in Middletown in March 1930 when he broke into dry cleaners not far from the Lakeside and robbed another business the next day before Middletown police caught him.

“We are told Dillinger was also in here. I know he has history in Hamilton, but we were told he also came this way,” Brian Mack said.

The iconic building that was a popular restaurant for years had been shuddered for 11 years when the Macks took on the project to reopen. Gone now are the dropped ceilings and wood paneling.

“It now looks like a cigar bar or something like that,” he said.

Movie filming took out the awning, so that is brand new. Through the magic of Hollywood, very little of the bar was damaged in the “fire.”

But memorabilia from the movie, some a bit charred, are part of the decor.

Mack said he is also a real estate appraiser, so the whole sees the project has been a start of gentrification of the neighborhood.

“It’s starting turn,” Mack said.

For now the Lakeside Inn’s kitchen is not open, but food is available and delivered to bar patrons from Starvin Marvin’s next door at 2021 Tytus Ave. It, too, is a new business that also offers ice cream treats that opened last month.

“We are just really excited. We had a soft opening on the day of the eclipse in April,” Mack said. “Now we are ready for the grand opening.”

The Bikeriders, a movie from Stoplight Pictures Inc., is being shot his week in Middletown at the former Lakeside Inn. Shooting continues on Friday and part of Tytus Avenue will be closed, according to the film company. NICK GRHAM/STAFF

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“The Bikeriders,” was also partially filmed in Hamilton, It will be released in theaters and it will stream on AppleTV+.

The full trailer for “The Bikeriders” starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus was released in September 2023. It may be viewed online on YouTube.

The fictional movie is inspired by the Danny Lyon photography book of the same name. It is about the rise and fall of a Midwestern motorcycle club in the 1960s.

“The Bikeriders” is written and directed by Jeff Nichols and is inspired by true events.

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