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Rumors are running rampant about what will become of the storied rock dive-bar the Lager House.

Folks in the music scene and beyond have been hearing for months that the Corktown bar on Michigan Avenue was closing down and would reopen as anything from an Ethiopian restaurant to a blues or jazz club (the most popular rumor).

Better-known bands that have graced the Lager’s stage include the Hard Lessons, the Von Bondies, the Paybacks and the Muggs. Touring bands from as far away as New Zealand have also been booked there.

Some in the downtown rock scene have written off the club, going so far as to say that the bar is “done,” and independent rock music will cease there completely.

“The music is going to be the focus of this place,” says P.J. Ryder, who will close a deal on the club with his partner George Kelly later this month. “This is why George and I got into it. There’ll be independent rock bands, Detroit rock bands, blues, folk. I want to expose a whole bunch of people to a whole bunch of music.”

The Weakly family, which is selling the Lager House, has owned the club for three generations.

Ryder, who was born and raised in Detroit, is best known in the music community for P.J.’s Used Records in Ann Arbor, which he ran for15 years. Kelly owns a bookstore in Dearborn and is a working musician.

The owners say their goals are to put live music in the club nearly every night — as opposed to its recent sporadic schedule — and to improve the atmosphere for customers and musicians alike. The Lager will get new flooring, an updated sound system and better and more accessible restrooms. The staff will be mostly new, and the new owners say they will take a hands-on approach by working in the bar as well as managing it. As of right now, the name of the bar will also stay the same.

Time will tell if the new Lager House will be accepted by the downtown music scene that has sustained it thus far. With the new ownership, musicians and patrons will be trading in some of the freedoms of being in an almost-anything-goes dive bar for certain comforts that they’ve been requesting for years.

“I’ll still go there because it’s another venue that supports local music,” says Eddie Baranek, lead singer and guitarist for Detroit band The Sights. “At the end of the day, you have to let go of the allegiances and the grudges that play out in this city, because you’re a musician first.

“I could care less who owns it, so long as the people are there to see us, and it’s the same room.”

The new owners hope to have a minimal gap in entertainment while the changes are made. For now, bands that want to play the Lager House can stop in later this month and talk to the new owners, or call the bar at (313) 961-4668. Press kits can be mailed to the Lager House at 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI 48226.

You can reach Melody Baetens at (313) 222-2402 or mbaetens@ detnews.com.