Checker Bar and Grill getting new owner/management

[downtownguy]

While in the Grand Trunk Pub [[aka Foran's) the other day, I was told that the owner and manager were in the process of purchasing the Checker Bar and Grill.

Personally, I think this is great news. Tim Tharp has owned the Grand Trunk Pub since 2006 and continues to improve it. While it will be sad to see a business owned by the same family since 1955 change hands, I think the Munro sisters had lost their spirit some time ago.

From what I can tell, Tim and Co. are still figuring out exactly what changes they will make, but it sounds like they envision an informal pizza and burger joint with some updating, but nothing major. I don't think they plan to change the name, either.

[EastsideAl]

Good, the place needs it badly. It should be much more successful than it is. Sad to say, but despite their long-standing status downtown, the Munros eventually scared off more people than were attracted to come in.

[pgn421]

EastsideAl- i think you are one hundred percent correct! Chase potential customers away.

[Detroitnerd]

Good, the place needs it badly. It should be much more successful than it is. Sad to say, but despite their long-standing status downtown, the Munros eventually scared off more people than were attracted to come in.

Not only was the concept tired, but the owners seemed totally uninterested in anybody who walked in. I came in one time and thought this place had history and class and wanted to hear the story. They were like, no ... it's just a burger place. And then when a food truck opened up nearby they raised holy hell about the truck stealing "their" customers. Gimmie a break! That place was empty because it was a tired dining concept with lackluster management left over from the days when you could open any burger joint and customers would come in and fill your chairs.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I'm glad to hear this [[although I wish I was buying it). Years ago it was a great burger dive in a positive sense. But that hasn't been true in a long time. It needs a freshening up.

[Cliffy]

I went there a few years ago for lunch and wondered how the place stayed open. Must have been 5 total customers at lunch.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I went there a few years ago for lunch and wondered how the place stayed open. Must have been 5 total customers at lunch.

I assumed they own the building, so no rent. I imagine selling tons of beer on game days kept things afloat. They were smart to keep it open, though; liquor licensing is much easier with an existing license transfer than trying to start from scratch, which is where they would be had they closed down. And that would have lowered the value of the place.

[Spartan]

Great news, the ownership/management was probably the #1 thing chasing people away from that place.

[IrishSpartan]

Years ago the Checker Bar was in the Cadillac Tower and the current Checker location was a Big Boy. Greenwich Time was Borg's. Of course, the Greyhound Bus Terminal was on E. Congress after moving from Washington Blvd. Kind of a interesting mix of people in that part of downtown back then.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Years ago the Checker Bar was in the Cadillac Tower and the current Checker location was a Big Boy. Greenwich Time was Borg's. Of course, the Greyhound Bus Terminal was on E. Congress after moving from Washington Blvd. Kind of a interesting mix of people in that part of downtown back then.

When did Checker move, do you know? I went for lunch as a kid quite a few times [[when I'd spend the day at work with Mom), probably 4 or 5 times a year. I don't remember where it was. I don't ever remember a Big Boy downtown [[except me, and I did go as Big Boy for Halloween once). Must have been a long time ago.

[detroitbob]

When the old building on Bates and Farmer [[at one time a morgue/mortuary) was demo's they had the chance to long term lease the corner of Beaubien and E. Jefferson but thought the rent was too high, so the corner went to Galligan's [[now Tom's Oyster Bar) and they relocated to their current location and the bitching commenced, producing the only consistant thing about the place. Good news...no, great news.

[jackie5275]

I don't ever remember a Big Boy downtown ... Must have been a long time ago.

I don't remember when a Big Boy downtown may have been on a surface street, but I remember there was one in the RenCen that opened either when the RenCen opened or shortly thereafter. It was there into the 80s, but I don't remember it being there after that decade.

[EastsideAl]

There were at least two Big Boys downtown at one time. One where the Checker Bar is, and another L-shaped one that wrapped around the store at the northeast corner of Griswold and Grand River [[next to the strip club building that just burned).

The Checker Bar was actually originally in a small old building on Bates between Farmer and Cadillac Square. My Dad's office was in the Cadillac Tower then and he was a regular, so I was in there as a teenager. It was a cozy dark little place with booths along the wall that had homemade Tiffany style lights over them, and an old-Detroit-style behind the bar grill [[there was no kitchen) that left the whole place in a rather pleasant cloud that smelled of burgers and grilled onions.

That whole section of buildings [[which was once also the main gay area in Detroit) was torn down in the late '70s, along with the late lamented Cadillac Square Building, in preparation for the clearing of the entire Monroe Block. The land was being cleared for the planned Cadillac Center Mall, which was supposed to extend over there from the Kern Block [[where Compuware is today).

[DetroitPlanner]

There were at least two Big Boys downtown at one time. One where the Checker Bar is, and another L-shaped one that wrapped around the store at the northeast corner of Griswold and Grand River [[next to the strip club building that just burned).

I can confirm that there was a Big Boy at Griswold and Grand River at least up until the 1980's. What may have happened to the Cadillac Square location was that when the Big Boy opened in the RenCen, this one was closed as it basically served the same market.

[EastsideAl]

I went there a few years ago for lunch and wondered how the place stayed open. Must have been 5 total customers at lunch.

Back when I worked at the City-County Building in the early-mid '80s the Checker would fill up at lunchtime with city and county employees. Also, a lot of people from the law offices in the First National Building and Cadillac Tower, as well as folks from the Water Board and the Old County Building.

A few things happened though. One was that, shall we say, the "mix" of employees downtown was changing, and in my observation some folks were probably made to feel a bit more welcome at the Checker than others. The big one, however, was when the edict came down during the Archer administration banning drinking alcohol at lunch. In fact, following the general social trend, most offices and companies made similar rules around the same time.

Up to then it was commonplace in the Detroit area [[and elsewhere I suppose) for workers to go out for a beer or two at lunchtime [[I have trouble convincing younger people of this, but I'm sure the oldsters here will back me up). Many bars around the city would do big lunch business, and this change in practices hurt a lot of them very badly.

[IrishSpartan]

When did Checker move, do you know? I went for lunch as a kid quite a few times [[when I'd spend the day at work with Mom), probably 4 or 5 times a year. I don't remember where it was. I don't ever remember a Big Boy downtown [[except me, and I did go as Big Boy for Halloween once). Must have been a long time ago.

I want to say early 80's. It was definitely still Big Boy in 1975-76 and for some years after that time.

[EastsideAl]

I think the Checker was gone for a while, because the family fought a longish fight with the city over their eviction and their compensation. So, I think there was a year or more between the closing of the Bates location and the opening in the former Big Boy on Cadillac Sq.

[downtownguy]

I want to say early 80's. It was definitely still Big Boy in 1975-76 and for some years after that time.

I never made it to the old location. My first visit was with a colleague I had worked with from 1980-82. I recall how he raved how good the burgers were. So, I would guess they were in that location by 1982, but it's possible I had lunch with this colleague after we quit working together.

[EastsideAl]

The Checker was on Cadillac Sq. by '81, because I vividly remember eating there before the Hearns-Leonard fight [[Sept. 16, '81), which was one of the craziest days downtown ever.

[downtownguy]

While in the Grand Trunk Pub yesterday, the manager filled me in on a bit of trivia regarding how the Checker got its name. According to him, the owner of the Checker Cab Company in Detroit started the bar and named it for his cab business. As the taxi service grew, he decided to let go of the bar. The Munro's kept the name after purchasing it.

[Detroitnerd]

While in the Grand Trunk Pub yesterday, the manager filled me in on a bit of trivia regarding how the Checker got its name. According to him, the owner of the Checker Cab Company in Detroit started the bar and named it for his cab business. As the taxi service grew, he decided to let go of the bar. The Munro's kept the name after purchasing it.

I'm a little confused here. My dad used to tell me that there was a place called Checker [[maybe Checker barbecue?) that was in the old black near east side in the 1950s and 1960s, around John R. Said they had a huge grill and a big sassy black lady running it. Told me they used to deliver all over, as far as Dearborn. Was there another Checker? Maybe the old man was fuzzy on the facts ...

[Honky Tonk]

Fuzzy was he?

[DetroitPlanner]

My dad told me it was because it used to be full of old guys who would play checkers and throw peanuts on the floor.

[Neilr]

I'm a little confused here. My dad used to tell me that there was a place called Checker [[maybe Checker barbecue?) that was in the old black near east side in the 1950s and 1960s, around John R. Said they had a huge grill and a big sassy black lady running it. Told me they used to deliver all over, as far as Dearborn. Was there another Checker? Maybe the old man was fuzzy on the facts ...

I remember there being the Checker BBQ on Livernois just south of 8 Mile in the 60s - 70s. I don't remember the grill or that it was black owned; but I do remember that the ribs were delicious and that when you were finished eating, the server brought you a large steaming hot towel with which to clean your face and hands.

[Detroitnerd]

I remember there being the Checker BBQ on Livernois just south of 8 Mile in the 60s - 70s. I don't remember the grill or that it was black owned; but I do remember that the ribs were delicious and that when you were finished eating, the server brought you a large steaming hot towel with which to clean your face and hands.

Now that makes more sense. Seems that delivery to Dearborn would be more feasible from there ... Thanks, Neilr!