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

[donpablo]

Greetings!

The other night I went to Skippers “Hamtown� to check it out and after talking to Skipper about the bars in my neighborhood I was inspired to take some pics and post them here.

My neighborhood is what some of you consider “old� Westside. I have lived near Michigan Ave. and Central for nearly 20 years. What I love about my neighborhood is the diversity. It is an old Polish neighborhood with a few Polish businesses still around. We have a great mix of Latino, white, black, Arabic and eastern Europeans. The Latino population has invested greatly in the neighborhood and has basically saved the area in my opinion. Unfortunately the latest recession has hurt a bit around here as I have seen more vacant/burnt houses.

In its heyday there were businesses on almost every residential corner. Many are long gone/bricked up and converted to flats and some remain. In the early 90’s I lived on 51st. just south of Michigan Ave and from my flat there were literally 6 bars within 2 blocks of my house.[[Southwest Lounge, Red’s Drive-in Bar, The Alaska, Hard Body, R&R, and the Freer Bar) The house I lived in I suspect was a blind pig back in the day. There was an old tunnel going from the basement to the garage. [[pic of the house below) The front of that house at the time was a beauty parlor run by an older polish lady. Now I live off Central north of McGraw.

I am looking forward to possibly hearing some stories about these places, let me know if I am missing any and I will try to get a pic.

I’ll start with the Michigan avenue Bars. Here is Brent’s place at the corner of Michigan and Addison;
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The Celebrity Bar and Grill just east of Lonyo;
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One of my favorites, the Cas Bar at Casper[[this place is open at 7am!!)
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Here is the Alaskan bar just east of Central;
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A few blocks down there is the freer Bar;
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[donpablo]

A few more blocks to the east is the long gone Toby’s bar;
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There are 2 Bars on Central that I know of and here is Red’s Park-in Bar near St. Stephen;
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Here is General George S. Patton Lounge and Hall on Central just north of Michigan. I believe this place was mostly rented out but I have noticed in the last few years they seem to be open all the time.
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South of Michigan in the neighborhood at the corner of Freer and St. John is the Southwest lounge. It is still open. When I lived near there at the time this was a neighborhood gang spot where the “Waldo Boys” used to hang out. They never messed with me but they still made me uncomfortable so I only went there a few times. [[same with the freer bar)
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Now we will go a bit north of Michigan Ave, over the freeway at McGraw and Central stands this formerly beautiful building that some a-hole painted and ran a dollar store there for less than a year. I was so upset when I saw them painting it. I cant remember the name of the place but it was another hall that I think had a bar. I’m sure someone here will remember what it was.
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[donpablo]

Down McGraw going east is the old Dare Bar, now turned into the “Caribbean club� they also have pool tables upstairs. The club was booming for a while but now it is sporadic. I wish I had an old pic of the sign. That place was stylin back in the day!
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South of McGraw at the corner of Chopin and Panama is the old “Panama� bar now called the La Sierra
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I had to include this pic of the house across the street from the La Sierra. A few years back this house had an 8’ chain link fence with barbed wire completely surrounding it. All the 1st floor windows were blocked up. As you can see it formerly had a business in it as well.
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Going down Panama over to Proctor stands the famous “Supreme Bakery�
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Across from the Supreme Bakery you have Mother’s Bar;
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[donpablo]

North of McGraw there is the classic, now closed Aloha Lounge at the corner of Chopin and Wagner;
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Here is a pic of the Lombardia Bakery on Proctor and Kirkwood. Previously this was a Polish bakery.
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Last but not least is another business in the hood;
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[donpablo]

Whoa.. I forgot the infamous gay bar on Michigan Ave; "R&R"
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[donpablo]

And my old place with the tunnel [[garage now gone)
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[kryptonite]

wow, these are excellent photos. I don't often travel the side streets in SW Detroit, I am usually on the main thoroughfares. thanks for posting some of these. I love neighborhood pubs and businesses. There is nothing like that where I live in the burbs.

[jcole]

My husband grew up in the general vicinity [[Michigan and Livernois). His dad used to drink at the Cas bar in the old days. 50's, 60's. His mom's family owned the Ozga Bakery on Livernois back then too. His Aunts and grandparents lived closer to Junction and used to eat at the Michigan Coney and Starlite. Great old neighborhood.

[Rosa]

I went into Mateja & Sons [[advertised on the Cas Bar building) once before it moved out to the suburbs. Can't remember if I bought anything.

I ate at Claire's OK. Really good pierogi and it was a cool old place. I was sorry when it closed. Are there any Polish restaurants left in the area? I remember that place that was once on McGraw. Called something like Golden Ducking?

Did you ever go to that Italian restaurant that some family ran out of their house in SW?

What's the Cas Bar like? It looks like it's for sale. I've always been fascinated by the bars in that area, but I've never gone in one. I always wanted to go in that one with all the crazy velvet painting that became kind of a hipster joint for a while, but never did.

I always loved driving around there and looking at the old signs and houses. I knew someone whose family had a business near Buck's Eat Shop. Think it was on Central. I told him there was something alluringly creepy about the area around there. He told me there was a grisly murder at that restaurant.

Wow, that Aloha Lounge looks amazingly cool.

How would you say this area compares to say Hubbard Farms and the rest of SW as far as livability/viability?

Not the same area, but speaking of bakeries, I really miss the sourdough rye bread from Chamberlain bakery. I went down to the Chamberlain once, hoping to find more delicacies and was amused to see it was just the front of a house and only had the rye bread and some doughnuts for sale.

[jcole]

Starlite is a Polish restaurant and it's still open. It's on Michigan between Central and Cecil

[donpablo]

Yes the Starlite. I have been eating perogies from there for a long time although its been a while. Not sure if the place on McGraw was named the"golden duckling" or not but that turned into a mexican restaurant a few years ago. I'll get a pic. The place had a bunch of red eagles on it.

The cas bar is a total dive. place looks like it hasnt changed in years.

The area used to be worse than Hubbard Farms but sort of bounced back with the influx of so many Latinos. IMO it is very livable. I bought my house 12 years ago and have never been robbed, broken into, jacked, etc. [[knock on wood) I love my neighborhood, i dont care what anybody says!!! I am also raising 3 children here who all attend DPS schools and they are getting a great education.

[donpablo]

Is the Italian restaurant run out of a home named Vince's on Springwells? I think that was a former home.

[Detroit_uke]

Grew up in that neighborhood - near Warren and Livernois. Went to that "Ukrainian" school on Clippert and Edward [[St. John's). There's a group on facebook - The Old St. Andrew's Neighborhood in Detroit - 48210" - they have photos too...Thanx for your photos!

[Maple Leaf Rag]

I went to the Franko Bar one Saturday afternoon after the market. It was in a house right in the middle of the block on St. John between Martin & Apple. The front door was locked and as I started to walk away, this old dude comes running from across the street saying "I got the key". We went in and had a great time. Bing's aerial map shows it torn down, and Google's street view is what my vision looked like after I left. There was also Tony Michno's place. Actually, his dad's place, Michno's, on Central by Waldo. I don't think they ever had an ice machine in it before they closed.

[Rosa]

Is the Italian restaurant run out of a home named Vince's on Springwells? I think that was a former home.

No, it was an illegal restaurant that a family ran out of their house, I think in the late 80s or early 90s. It started getting good reviews in the newspaper, so maybe the attention got it shut down.

I just noticed that those streets are named Chopin & Wagner, like the composers. Let me guess...is Chopin pronounced "Choppin"?

[jcole]

No, it was an illegal restaurant that a family ran out of their house, I think in the late 80s or early 90s. It started getting good reviews in the newspaper, so maybe the attention got it shut down.

I just noticed that those streets are named Chopin & Wagner, like the composers. Let me guess...is Chopin pronounced "Choppin"?

It could be around here, but it's really 'Showpan' if that's what you're asking.

[Rosa]

No, I know how Chopin [[as in the composer) is pronounced. I just figured in Detroitese the street might be pronounced "Choppin" - kinda like how a French word like "Gratiot" ends up being pronounced "Grah-shit".

[jcole]

No, I know how Chopin [[as in the composer) is pronounced. I just figured in Detroitese the street might be pronounced "Choppin" - kinda like how a French word like "Gratiot" ends up being pronounced "Grah-shit".

OK, I wasn't sure. And when talking about screwed up French words don't forget 'Livernoise'

[gazhekwe]

My husband's grandparents lived across the street from Franko's. I think Grandpa was friends with the owner back then. They used to have great Friday fish fry.

[donpablo]

I have always pronounced it "showpin"

Thanks for the link Detroit_uke, i'll check out the 48210 on facebook

Maple Leaf Rag - I love that Frankos was in the middle of the street! I never heard of it or mitchnos. i will drive over there and take look to see if mitchos is still there. When did they close?


BTW- here is a pic of the mexican restaurant La Rosita on McGraw that used to be a polish restaurant
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[Rosa]

I have always pronounced it "showpin"

Fair enough. I have been meaning to try the kielbasa at Markowycz's, so I think I'll hit the Starlite while in the neighborhood. Is Supreme Bakery still good?

[jcole]

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.

[reddog289]

Still miss the old Senate Coney next to the theatre, and the Pure Food Bakery.

[jcole]

Is George's Coney still any good?

[barnesfoto]

Thanks for the great collection of SWD corner bars. In my twenty years on and off in SWD, I've been to a few. The Dare had some pretty cool 40's deco decor, The Alaskan used to have the coolest motorized chair behind the bar, enabling the bartender to whiz up and down a set of rails to attend customers, all the while comfortably seated. Not pictured: Two of my faves, the Cozy Cove on Otis and Gilbert, which was a hangout for aficionados of Pigeon Racing, and Lenik's on....was it Martin?

Never went into the RR, as it was some kinda gay cowboy bar, but went there as a kid when it was Clare's OK Restaurant, a Polish restaurant.