Really Old Bars Are Great

PJ’s Lager House – 1254 Michigan Avenue, Detroit

     This year, PJ’s Lager House joins the century club: Built in 1914 and occupied first in 1915, that means alcohol was first served 100 years ago. At least until Prohibition began, owner P.J. Ryder says the bar became a furniture store almost immediately, and stayed one until 1935. (Although, in an Irish Catholic neighborhood like Corktown, you have to wonder just how “furnished” the customers were when they finally wobbled out of there.)

     In 1935, the space was taken over by “The Doemer Beer Garden,” which then became “Doemer Brothers Tavern,” and finally just “Doemer Tavern.” A guy by the name of Andy Kierney bought it in 1949 and kept it until 1977. In 1965, he changed the name of the business to the Lager House, which gives Ryder another anniversary to mark this year. Under Kierney’s watch, the place became an Irish Catholic Teamster bar. Ryder says, “From what the old-timers tell me, there used to be a big, round table, and that was the Teamsters’ negotiating table. A Wayne County politician named Youngblood used to run Wayne County from end of bar by making phone calls in between hands of euchre.

     Even Jerome P. Cavanaugh came into the bar. In 1977, Thomas Weakley bought the bar. Weakley loved the bar so much, he made sure the Lager House was listed on all maps produced by Hearne Brothers, his other employer. Hearne was later bought by Rand McNally, and the lager house remains listed on some maps. Unfortunately, Weakley only lived five years, and wound up leaving the bar to his six kids. They ran it for years, even when Tiger Stadium closed. In 1991, the Weakley kids began bringing in electronic music, then garage. Then PJ. bought it in 2007. It’s one of the best places to see live rock, eat vegan dishes, and even shop for records in the basement.

Andrews On The Corner – 201 Joseph Campau, Detroit

     Andrews on the Corner – 201 Joseph Campau, Detroit 313-259-8325 – Andrews on the Corner has been in the Andrews family since 1918, when Gus Andrews bought the place. The 1886 building was already a bar then, and the lady who ran it had to give away soup under the then-current law that establishments selling alcohol had to have food. In almost a century, the bar has had only two owners: Gus Andrews died in 1977, and his grandson, Tom Andrews, has run it since. It remains a classic bar that serves good food and very friendly service. It is, after all, a family establishment.