"Old" Westside neighborhood bars, bakery's and more

[Lowell]

Absolutely fabulous tour DonPablo! SW Detroit has so much color.

[princealbert]

DonPablo, you're making me homesick. Lived in that neighborhood from the early '90s until 3 years ago. In fact my house was just across Panama from the old place with the glass block windows in your photo, a block east of Supreme Bakery.

I think the crummy looking dollar store used to be John Wayne Bar. I used to frequent Red's, Dare Bar, Cas Bar and Patton PLAV. Mother's across from Supreme Bakery and Stempien's Sidestreet Lounge on Martin south of Michigan are worth a mention. Martha, the regular night time bartender at Mother's can really belt out the old country tunes. It's in her blood... she's related to the Stanley Brothers. Stempien's is the friendliest place I found in the area. Kenny Stempien is a really sweet guy and they serve some killer burgers... Stump Burgers! The Alaskan Bar used to have a giant mural of a sled dog race on the wall across from the bar. Last time I went in the new owner painted over the mural with stark white paint and was playing Euro techo super loud. Like I said, it was the last time! I think the mural was painted by a semi-famous neighborhood artist, whose name escapes me. He may have painted the interior of the old Carnival Bar by Clark Park. Maybe barnesfoto knows who it is.

I think the Tarnow Outlet used to be the Tarnow Bakery. Seems like that place opened and closed several times while I lived in the area, maybe even burned once.

[Rosa]

According to Yelp, Stempien's is closed:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/stempiens-si...lounge-detroit

Mother's sounds cool though. Where else in SW has a great burger?

[princealbert]

The Aloha Bar had to be the swankest place in the neighborhood. Martini glass neons in the windows, beautiful blonde bar and furniture with lime green upholstery. Tiny stage with a piano right by the front door, dance floor surrounded by a raised up area with booths. Total time warp back to the 1930s. Too bad the old drunk bat that owned it was so cranky. One time I went in there with my girl and she accused us of trying to sell drugs. The thing is, there was no one in the bar but us, her and her son tending bar. Her son started yelling, "You gotta stop accusing people of that! You want people to come in here, dontcha?" Needless to say, I didn't stop in too often. Later, a Mexican dude by the name of Angel bought the place. He ended up getting shot in the spine by a richocheting bullet when a gang-related fight broke out in his place. That was about a week after the last time I set foot in there. Glad I wasn't around for that, the place was getting sketchy, anyway. I recall a hand scralled note taped to the bar mirror: "Mens keep your hands off other mens womens" Sticks in my memory for some reason.

Another cool place was the Just For One Bar on Central south of Michigan. They had a beautiful German stained glass behind a dark mahogany bar. Spent the first night of the blackout trying to help them finish off their beer before it got warm!

[princealbert]

Rosa, try Abick's Bar near the post office on Livernois. Corner of Dennis and Gilbert.

What a shame about Stempien's, if Yelp is right. I was there not too long ago.

[princealbert]

donpablo- Michno's is no longer there. They moved to Redford - 5 Mile and Beech Daly. I believe the Michno's on Central ended up being called the Just For One I mentioned, but I'm not positive.

[ASR89]

Donpablo, thanks for the nice pictures and descriptions. It's nice to hear that you've enjoyed living and raising kids in the city. I'm still in college so it's years off, and unless it's a problem with the future Mrs., I've always had your area at the top of my list of possible neighbourhoods to buy a house in someday. I usually take Michigan Avenue to go downtown and the streetscape between Wyoming and Livernois [[can't say the same for east of Livernois and west of Corktown) looks to be in good condition - open businesses and many people out and walking about. Hopefully things remain stable or get better in the upcoming years.

[softailrider]

Is George's Coney still any good?

I think it's been absolutely terrible for about 20 years. After the origional owners son sold it, the food became awful.

[jcole]

I think it's been absolutely terrible for about 20 years. After the origional owners son sold it, the food became awful.

That's too bad. I really liked it way back when
Thanks

[gazhekwe]

I've been trying to perfect George's chili ever since John sold the place. When I was PG I lived on George's coneys. The recipe has finely crumbled ground beef, finely chopped onion, lots of cumin and other mysterious spices to give it flavor and color, NO tomatoes. I don't know what the liquid was, beef broth, water? I use beer. I've gotten close, but not right on. I think the guys who worked there were all from the same country. Was it Albania? The one guy with the hole in his head, with his "Four on Two, Two heavy, Ships!" was iconic.

[jackie5275]

Thanks for those pix. I remember taking my kid, who was about 4 y/o at the time, to preschool downtown travelling Mich Ave because of construction on the freeways. He was beginning to read, & one evening while driving home, he kept reading the word "bar" on the all the bar signs on Mich. As we neared Lonyo, he noticed he'd been reading "bar" alot and asked me "Mom why are there so many bars here? Every street has a bar, why is that?". The things kids say.

[jackie5275]

[quote=donpablo;111722]
I’ll start with the Michigan avenue Bars. Here is Brent’s place at the corner of Michigan and Addison;
Attachment 4885
Didn't this used to be the Kress Lounge about 20 years ago?

[Rosa]

No, the Kress was by Lonyo. There was a big picture window with a fabulous neon sign in the window. with "Kress" in cursive. The couple that owned it retired and moved to Florida. Everything in the bar was sold, including the impressive bar. I wonder who bought the neon sign.

[1KielsonDrive]

I've never been to Supreme but the kielbasa at Markowycz's is very good, albeit pretty expensive. I think it was somewhere around $6 a lb when I was there last Christmas. I bought the smoked.

$6.00 a pound is a steal. You probably know that and you're likely commenting in relative terms. I bought some smoked sausage at Koptyko's in Hamtown recently. I think it was considerably more than $6.00 a pound. I think I paid almost $30.00 for a little over 2 pounds. It was sooooo good, I've been back a few times. It's a great snack or meal. Markowycz's is very similar in that it is all homemade and labor intensive. If you've noticed, most of the big meat company stuff out there is all pretty much the same. I think they make it all in one batch and then add some flavorings and call it 'brats', or Italian, or whatever.

[jackie5275]

No, the Kress was by Lonyo. There was a big picture window with a fabulous neon sign in the window. with "Kress" in cursive. The couple that owned it retired and moved to Florida. Everything in the bar was sold, including the impressive bar. I wonder who bought the neon sign.

I remember that big neon sign. My dad & I went in there for a beer once. For a while I lived downriver. When I got back to living in this area, Kress was gone, & I keep trying to remember where it stood. Although Addison is only a few blocks west of Lonyo. I'll have to drive by there again.

[jcole]

I don't buy at the 'big meat companies'; I usually go to the Polish Market and buy out of their meat counter. You can get some really good chopped, not ground, sausages for as little as 2.79 a pound. They have Wedding Sausage for around 3.79 lb as well as about 15 other varieties, fresh and smoked, ranging from the above mentioned 2.79 up to about 5.99.

[1KielsonDrive]

This thread reminds me of some of my best times in Detroit. I love the southwest and west sides. Last fall during the Jazz Fest, a friend and I decided to do a 'Dive' crawl, which we do periodically. I started at the Jazz Fest in the afternoon. We rendezvoused in Hamtown for a few stops and then headed over to a few bars near the Ford Rouge and Patton Park. After those stops we headed back downtown to the Jazz Fest and a walk around downtown. We capped the night with Telway burgers and coffee on our favorite perch, watching the street, night life along Michigan Avenue. What a day and night. Doesn't get better. That stretch of Michigan Avenue is an urban delight. As Don Pablo said, the Mexican's have saved that neighborhood, much as they've done with the Vernor corridor.

[1KielsonDrive]

I remember that big neon sign. My dad & I went in there for a beer once. For a while I lived downriver. When I got back to living in this area, Kress was gone, & I keep trying to remember where it stood. Although Addison is only a few blocks west of Lonyo. I'll have to drive by there again.

Look for the middle of the used car lot. There's an indent in the curb where the street used to be. That's where the Kress was located.

[1KielsonDrive]

[quote=jackie5275;112042]

I’ll start with the Michigan avenue Bars. Here is Brent’s place at the corner of Michigan and Addison;
Attachment 4885
Didn't this used to be the Kress Lounge about 20 years ago?

The Kress was torn down by the dealership [[used to be Jerry Bielfield Ford), at Michigan and Lonyo, for their expanded used car lot.

[1KielsonDrive]

I don't buy at the 'big meat companies'; I usually go to the Polish Market and buy out of their meat counter. You can get some really good chopped, not ground, sausages for as little as 2.79 a pound. They have Wedding Sausage for around 3.79 lb as well as about 15 other varieties, fresh and smoked, ranging from the above mentioned 2.79 up to about 5.99.

Right on jcole, that is some good stuff.

[donpablo]

Absolutely fabulous tour DonPablo! SW Detroit has so much color.

Thanks Lowell. It would be even more colorful on a bright summer day. It was pretty dreary out when i took the pics.

princealbert- I love the stories! Especially the sliding bartenders chair in the Alaskan and the old lady at the Aloha.

1KielsonDrive - dive crawls are always fun except for the fact that you usually cant find a dark beer! Everyone loves the Telway, it seems many find themselves there after a good night at the bar!

I will try to get some pics of some of the closed down joints some of you have mentioned here

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

[reddog289]

Having got to know a bit about that area in the 15 or so year I was in and out of that place.While a few places are gone alot still remain. The Kress was an Old Timers Bar, according to my "gramps" Who lived in that area for 60+yrs.
I read were the bar ended up north in a vacation home.

[caspermi]

I grew up in that area in the 60's and 70's and a few places come to mind.
- Michno's Cafe on the corner of Central and St. Stephens
- The Softball Bar on the corner of Freer and St John
- bar on the corner of Central and St John [[can't remember name)
- Who could forget the 52nd Show Bar on Michigan and 52nd. Remember as kid the ad in front for 'Antoinette the MonkeyLady". I was eight when the Tigers won the World Series in '68 and people were celebrating on Michigan Ave. A friend and I dared each other and we went into the place and each got a bag of chips and I still remember the gal dancing on stage at the time.
- There was a bar next to Piaskowski Drugs on Michigan that had a shuffleboard table game that we played on many times.
- I think it was the El Dorado Bar on the corner of Michigan and Livernois. Used to stop in and buy french fries in their restaurant on the way home from Boys Club.
- Don't know the name, but there was a go-go bar on the north side of Michigan between Martin and Livernois that had a series of torches on the front of the building. I remember driving past at night with my dad and the front was lit with the flaming torches.

Here are some other businesses that come to mind;
-White Tower Burgers on Central and Michigan. Cunninghams-later DOTS drugs, Neisners Dime Store, A clothing store next to a jewelery store [[can't remember names), Plizga Shoes, Jaworski's Deli, Piaskowski Drugs, Darpol Travel, 5 and 10 Dime Store, Sgt Russ Barbershop, Polys Hardware, Gniewak Trophy Shop, a hardware store on 52nd and Michigan, Banner Grocery and right next door was a magazine store where I bought many a comic book.

I'd like others to share memories of the area.

[SMRJim]

... There are 2 Bars on Central that I know of and here is Red’s Park-in Bar near St. Stephen;....

I knew the owners of Red's, the Davises - I think Jimmy may own it now, not sure if Mr. Davis is still around. A good friend of mine lived around the corner from them, used to hang out at their house sometimes [[near Schoolcraft and Southfield). Went to Reds one time with that friend after a Tigers game back in the mid 80s. We never had to buy a beer -customers knew we were friends of Jimmy's, kept sending beers over to us. Lots of good old boys hanging out there - the Davises were from Tennessee. The 'special' whiskey came out later, after many beers.

[preserve]

Supreme Bakery is still good - great rye bread and pastries.
Feel bad that there is so much dumping in that area, behind
Mothers and all the way up to Central. Creeps me out when I
go there to buy my weekly bread. At one time, in addition to the bars along that stretch of Michigan, were bridal shops. Had my wedding gown made in a shop across from the 52nd
show bar - back when it was a piano bar and very classy. I
sort of remember that the bridal shop became a twister lounge.