Most people seem to only remember Honest?John’s at their current Midtown location on Selden near Cass. But the bar has a long history, and before 2002 was located just off of Jefferson by the Belle Isle Bridge.
The place still is a Detroit classic (now owned by Sugar House owner Dave Kwiatkowski and his brother), but the old location on Field Street, across from Gabriel Richard Park, had a unique Detroit-y quality I can’t quite place when headed by John Thompson. The best description I could find was “a place where the beers and the truth are served cold and straightforward.”
It was where to go after seeing grandma at some family function in Indian Village, because as much as you love them to death, sometimes family politics makes you need a drink. The welcome there was always gruff and warm all at the same time.
When taking the pictures here and asking around of the people in the immediate area or on the demo crew, no one around remembered the old spot, but did share that someone decided to make the building a drive-thru of sorts by plowing into it with their vehicle about 10 days ago. The damage was great enough that the building, built in 1923, had to come down.
No plans were shared by the folks on site. The current owner of the property isn’t listed on Loveland either, just “Taxpayer.”
Anyone else remember the old joint?