(Excerpt from October 2021 Crow's Nest Newsletter)

Much has been written over the years about
Ferndale's favorite watering holes.
2021 marked the 200th birthday of Ferndale’s
first “bar” – Jabez White opened his tavern
at what is now 8 Mile road and Pinecrest in 1821.

In 1823 “Mother Handsome” (Mary Ann Chappell)
opened what is most likely our 2nd tavern
in a little log cabin on the west side of what is now
Woodward between present Drayton and Oakridge.

Ferndale Police with Prohibition Haul - 1928 (Museum Archives)

 

This sparked the question; “what is Ferndale’s oldest
bar still in operation”? The research and answer are
somewhat complicated…

 

We started by looking at all licenses granted by the city
of Ferndale at the end of prohibition. A primary source
of detailed information were the historic City Council Minutes.

Spring of 1933 was a busy time for the city – many
merchants approached the city looking for beer & wine
licenses – eager to cash-in after prohibition ended.
On April 10, 1933, Michigan became the first state to ratify
the 21st Amendment, which repealed the prohibition of alcohol.
More history can be found HERE.

 

We found 33 licenses issued in early 1933 for
restaurants, bars, and drug stores to handle alcohol.
For this project we studied the 13 establishments
from the 1933 list that still exist in
some form today. The findings were interesting…

 

Oldest Bar Location	Tony’s Sports Bar (23500 Woodward) & Danny’s (22824 Woodward) are tied for longest location serving alcohol. Both have had licenses at their location since May 5, 1933. The Elk's club was also licensed on May 5, 1933 at their original location, but moved across the street to their current location in 1944. New Way was licensed May 10, 1933 in their original location, but moved in 1948 to their new location.
Longest Current Bar Owners	The longest current owners are Dan & Sally Reedy - owners of Danny’s since 1985. The same owners of Sneakers have been tending bar since 1988. The Bielski family has run Tony’s since 1992. NOTE: The Warrilow family had been serving patrons since 1955. In fact Margaret Warrilow was granted a beer/wine /takeout license in 1944 but the history from 1944 to 1955 is not clear. The bar closed during the pandemic and appears to be for sale as of 2023.
Bar Location with Most Names	Since 1933, 23500 Woodward has been known as The Duck Inn, Ida’s, Bishop’s, Fernridge Inn, Lil’s Place, Vicki’s Tavern (1947 – Nov 1950), Hosmer’s (Nov 1950 – Feb 1992), and Tony’s Bar (Feb 1992 – Today). Coincidentally this is across Woodward from Mother Handsome’s 1823 tavern!
Oldest Bar Name Still In Operation	Ironically, New Way is the oldest bar name still in operation. They also had the longest family ownership of any bars – with the Kourtesis family running the show for 78 years until 2013.

 

Unavailability of alcohol by the glass and limits on
alcohol while playing shuffleboard, dancing
or other entertainments would create social clubs
(and be the subject of future articles).

 

Unfortunately the Museum has very few photos
of our early taverns, pubs, bars, & social clubs.
If you have photos to share please contact us & thank you!

info@ferndalehistoricalsociety.org

 

 

Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without expressed
and written consent from the Ferndale Historical Society is prohibited.

Revised: April 19, 2023