Proof is closing

[DetroitDad]

Sports Fans!? It seems that bars in worse locations, with better programming towards the sport fan clientele, are surviving.

It seems more like Grand Circus Park has changed, and Downtown is at least slightly less hip than it was leading up to, and directly after the Super Bowl.

I think it was more geared to the crowd that visited Bleu, the Broderick parties, and club nights at the State. All those places have since closed or gone in a different direction, so it's not really a surprise that this place is closing.

[janb]

I have read posts on this forum for a long time but have never posted myself until now. I have to say how amazing it is that most of the people on here claim to love Detroit and hope for things to get better, yet as soon as a place like Proof closes, most of you are quick to pick it apart and seem to love to make assumptions as to why it failed. Clearly, and I mean very clearly, most of you have never even set foot in the place or you would not be spewing such crap.

I happened to have loved Proof and came to know and love the guys that ran the place. Let me tell you what I know. There was nothing "shady" going on and it certainly wasn't "exclusive". They only had DJs on the weekends and never charged a cover or had a dress code. The staff, themselves, often wore Tiger's t-shirts, etc. They had a very diverse crowd in many ways, certainly never an "exclusive" one. The owners sunk their hearts and souls into that bar; at least one of them was there everyday, all day. They, were, in fact, the bartenders and they were damn good bartenders at that. They took great care to get to know their customers and had lots of local regulars as a result. The drinks were the same price as they are pretty much anywhere. Yes, they had some $10 martinis, but they were made to perfection with top shelf ingredients. Those same martinis were also 1/2 off 2-3 times a week.

The only people that know exactly why Proof is closing are the owners and I'm sure they are feeling pretty disappointed that something they sunk as much time, money and energy into has failed. So why make it worse by bad-mouthing the place and making such ridiculous assumptions about it? It's just sad, really.

[andybsg]

I have read posts on this forum for a long time but have never posted myself until now. I have to say how amazing it is that most of the people on here claim to love Detroit and hope for things to get better, yet as soon as a place like Proof closes, most of you are quick to pick it apart and seem to love to make assumptions as to why it failed. Clearly, and I mean very clearly, most of you have never even set foot in the place or you would not be spewing such crap.

I happened to have loved Proof and came to know and love the guys that ran the place. Let me tell you what I know. There was nothing "shady" going on and it certainly wasn't "exclusive". They only had DJs on the weekends and never charged a cover or had a dress code. The staff, themselves, often wore Tiger's t-shirts, etc. They had a very diverse crowd in many ways, certainly never an "exclusive" one. The owners sunk their hearts and souls into that bar; at least one of them was there everyday, all day. They, were, in fact, the bartenders and they were damn good bartenders at that. They took great care to get to know their customers and had lots of local regulars as a result. The drinks were the same price as they are pretty much anywhere. Yes, they had some $10 martinis, but they were made to perfection with top shelf ingredients. Those same martinis were also 1/2 off 2-3 times a week.

The only people that know exactly why Proof is closing are the owners and I'm sure they are feeling pretty disappointed that something they sunk as much time, money and energy into has failed. So why make it worse by bad-mouthing the place and making such ridiculous assumptions about it? It's just sad, really.

Cross post to SOPDJ

[DetroitDad]

I have read posts on this forum for a long time but have never posted myself until now. I have to say how amazing it is that most of the people on here claim to love Detroit and hope for things to get better, yet as soon as a place like Proof closes, most of you are quick to pick it apart and seem to love to make assumptions as to why it failed. Clearly, and I mean very clearly, most of you have never even set foot in the place or you would not be spewing such crap.

I happened to have loved Proof and came to know and love the guys that ran the place. Let me tell you what I know. There was nothing "shady" going on and it certainly wasn't "exclusive". They only had DJs on the weekends and never charged a cover or had a dress code. The staff, themselves, often wore Tiger's t-shirts, etc. They had a very diverse crowd in many ways, certainly never an "exclusive" one. The owners sunk their hearts and souls into that bar; at least one of them was there everyday, all day. They, were, in fact, the bartenders and they were damn good bartenders at that. They took great care to get to know their customers and had lots of local regulars as a result. The drinks were the same price as they are pretty much anywhere. Yes, they had some $10 martinis, but they were made to perfection with top shelf ingredients. Those same martinis were also 1/2 off 2-3 times a week.

The only people that know exactly why Proof is closing are the owners and I'm sure they are feeling pretty disappointed that something they sunk as much time, money and energy into has failed. So why make it worse by bad-mouthing the place and making such ridiculous assumptions about it? It's just sad, really.

I did not go to Proof much, mostly because many of my friends thought it was too high end. It didn't matter how it actually was, it gave off that vibe. It appears by the post here that this wasn't just my circles that assumed this.

I did apply for temporary or bar tending jobs at Proof when I was unemployed just this past Spring. The owners were very nice, and hinted that business wasn't doing so well, and that they were suffering from a mix of problems, the economy being one of them. I imagine it was a shrinking of their customer base based on competition and anchors closing, but yeah, I am just guessing.

Others have voiced similar disapproval of how we pick-apart our city's failures. I personally have been accused of being behind a business closing [[not true, but I was accused). Generally, and I can only speak with the assumption that others are on a similar page as me, we pick things apart because we aspire to be these people and are attempting to figure out and learn from their mistakes. When you dream to open your own business, like Proof, you look everywhere for inspiration and every place you go includes analyzing what is done right and what is done wrong. This is not a insult to the owners of any business, in fact, there failure may end up being other's education and success, proving that their tragedy is not in vein.

That is compared to other Detroit blogs and message boards that only talk about these things for their own humor and amusement, with no positive outcome.

DetroitYES is a little more progressive than that.

[chitaku]

went to proof tonight, everyone was pretty sad about the closing, the owners are the nicest guys and it really broke my heart to see them so bummed. Downtown is dying and that's all there is to it.

[Diehard]

I have read posts on this forum for a long time but have never posted myself until now. I have to say how amazing it is that most of the people on here claim to love Detroit and hope for things to get better, yet as soon as a place like Proof closes, most of you are quick to pick it apart and seem to love to make assumptions as to why it failed. Clearly, and I mean very clearly, most of you have never even set foot in the place or you would not be spewing such crap.

I happened to have loved Proof and came to know and love the guys that ran the place. Let me tell you what I know. There was nothing "shady" going on and it certainly wasn't "exclusive". They only had DJs on the weekends and never charged a cover or had a dress code. The staff, themselves, often wore Tiger's t-shirts, etc. They had a very diverse crowd in many ways, certainly never an "exclusive" one. The owners sunk their hearts and souls into that bar; at least one of them was there everyday, all day. They, were, in fact, the bartenders and they were damn good bartenders at that. They took great care to get to know their customers and had lots of local regulars as a result. The drinks were the same price as they are pretty much anywhere. Yes, they had some $10 martinis, but they were made to perfection with top shelf ingredients. Those same martinis were also 1/2 off 2-3 times a week.

The only people that know exactly why Proof is closing are the owners and I'm sure they are feeling pretty disappointed that something they sunk as much time, money and energy into has failed. So why make it worse by bad-mouthing the place and making such ridiculous assumptions about it? It's just sad, really.

When I said "shady" earlier, I wasn't necessarily referring to Proof's management. Lord knows there's a lot of shady stuff going on when you figure in the politics of downtown.
That said, I hope things work out.