Shots on the River, 5760 West River Dr, Belmont ~ 8/20/24

The history we could find on the place is this so far:
It was Cecil's in the 1960s & 1970s,
Westwood Ranch House 1970s-1980s,
Caribbean Club late 1980s-1990s.
Then it went back to being Westwood Ranch House (information & photo courtesy of Kurt Ehinger).

It's been Shots for about the past 10 years. We were told there is still a bar in the basement but it is not open to the public.

More history from Pete Walsh:
"It was Westwood Ranch House owned by Jack Woods for years. There was a house across the driveway where he lived, gone now. He also ran a riverboat for a while. The building has grown over the years. The main bar was a nice horseshoe bar up by the front door where there is a meeting room now. There were two banquet rooms and a large walk in cooler in the basement. The stairwell to the basement was also by the front door and is gone now. The current main bar was a back bar used mainly for events like concerts. The Middleton Trio with Sparky Harris used to play every Sunday night."

(If you haven't already joined it, find the West Michigan History Then & Now group on facebook. I can always count on those folks for historic information!) 

The metal clad building is huge, broken up with a large entry with a pool table, massive dining area and bar, and a smaller walled off dining area.
Joe has been the manager here for 8 years and was happy to talk with us.
Our beverage selections consisted of Octoberfest, Arnold Palmer and two Blackberry Blueberry ciders.
Shots Potato Tumblers were excellent and are highly recommended. The tot-style potato balls were mixed with cheddar cheese, bacon, and jalapenos. Dusted with parmesan cheese they arrived with house-made chipotle ranch.
Our main dishes were as follows:
A half rack of dry rubbed and slow cooked ribs with home made BBQ sauce and house fries. They were "fall-off-the-bone" good!
The nicely toasted turkey sub was delicious. The shaved turkey combined well with applewood smoked bacon, mozzarella cheese, chipotle mayo, lettuce, and tomato.
The Reuben came fully loaded on marble rye but needed a bit more 1000 Island dressing.
A steak fajita wrap was more just like a steak wrap since it was very much under seasoned. It did not have the Mexican flavoring that one would expect. Hot sauce or salsa (not on the table) would have helped. But it was quite fine as a steak wrap 😉
They had some fun advertising playing on a screen on the wall near us.
I wonder how many people have taken a tumble here 😊
There is an expansive outdoor patio and lots of sports activities (softball, volleyball, and corn hole) beyond that.
Crystal was our able and friendly server tonight.
There is an older, second location at 4259 Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Rapids which caters more to the college crowd but we were told has become more family friend recently. We had an altogether pleasant experience here, enjoyed the food, and had excellent service. 
 

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