Three classic Detroit Speakeasies
Tommy’s Bar. Photograph: William Craig Moyes
Supergeil
By day, this large, comfortable wood-lined bar-restaurant is all about seasonal ingredients, Mediterranean cuisine and farmer/chef relationships, but drop in a little later and hitch a hip on a barstool and there’s a great little list of single barrel rye and bourbon. Owner David Landrum started Two James Spirits, the first distillery in Detroit since Prohibition.
Authentic jazz vibes at Cliff Bell’s
Cliff Bell's
A proper late-night jazz dive that first opened in 1935, with a gorgeous Art Deco interior, live music and the kind of door policy (yes, there’s a charge to enter; no, it won’t be waived if you just want a drink) that could signal a 1920s joint operating on the fringes of legality. In fact, it is entirely above board, but the make-believe adds to the fun.
Baseball mural, Tommy’s. Photograph William Craig Moyes
Tommy’s Detroit Bar & Grill
Today, it’s a sports bar festooned with baseball and hockey memorabilia, including photos of Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Gordie Howe and Bob Probert, whose dad was a Windsor cop, but back in the 1920s, Tommy’s was a genuine speakeasy. There are information panels about its sleazy past, appropriately tucked away in the back room.
