Against all odds, Detroit’s Old Miami has been in business for 45 years.
The beloved dive bar is celebrating the occasion with a party on Saturday that includes winter-themed games and live music.
From 3-10 p.m. guests can partake in “Lugefest” on the bar’s backyard patio featuring ice luges, or liquor shots poured through ice sculptures. There will also be a Kahlúa-sponsored hot bar with coffee and tea mixed drinks.
The “Lugefest” event is $20 to attend, with all proceeds going to support Little Blessings, a Michigan-based ranch that provides therapy horses for military veterans and their families.
Helping vets has been a part of Old Miami’s identity from its beginning. The bar was founded by Dan Overstreet on Feb. 3, 1980 after he returned to Detroit from being drafted into the Vietnam War, using money he made as a union railroad worker.
At the time the Cass Corridor was infamous for crime, and Overstreet purchased the former New Miami bar which had been left vacant after being firebombed. He cheekily named his new bar the Old Miami, which was also a nod to fellow vets, honoring “missing in action” service members from “MI.” With the help of the community, he slowly rebuilt the building piece by piece.
“Being in that situation gave me the guts to stay down there every night,” Overstreet previously told Metro Times of his military service and affinity for the Cass Corridor. “People were getting shot every night, the cops were crooked, you name it.”
Music is also a big part of the Old Miami’s identity. During his time on the railroad, Overstreet worked alongside the late folk artist Rodriguez, who died in 2023 at 81. The “Sugarman” singer is honored with a sign inside the bar emblazoned with “Rodriguez for Mayor of Detroit 2013.”
Fittingly, the Old Miami’s 45th anniversary party continues into the evening with rock acts the Luddites, Jo Serrapere, and Poor Player starting at 10 p.m., with a $5 cover.
A number of notable musical acts have graced the Old Miami’s stage over the years, including Iggy Pop, Jack White, the Dead Milkmen, and the Butthole Surfers.
“Danny told me once that Aretha Franklin did a show here,” manager Dena Walker tells Metro Times. “She asked if she could sing after some event onstage. He was like, ‘Of course, you can do whatever you want.’”
As the Cass Corridor has transformed into the trendier “Midtown,” the Old Miami survives as a time capsule of an old, weird Detroit. To avoid getting lost in the shuffle amid all the new development in the neighborhood, Walker says the owners have sought to retain the Old Miami’s quirky character and reputation as a community gathering space.
To that end they have introduced regular event programming, including trivia on Wednesdays and monthly karaoke parties.
Another uniquely Old Miami experience is the Barfly Awards — “the night that we roast all of our regulars for giving us money all year,” Walker says with a laugh. Categories for this year’s event, set for Saturday, March 1, include “King and Queen of the Flies,” “Most Likely to be Loud and Wrong,” “Wannabe Dan Campbell,” “Most Likely to Be 86’d,” and “Alex of the Year.” (“We have a lot of Alexes for some reason right now,” Walker says. “That’s actually my favorite category.”) The event is hosted by writer, actor, and man-about-town Jimmy Doom.
Other events hocking up at the bar this year include rapper Valid’s annual Validtines hip-hop show on Feb. 8; an afterparty for the Marche du Nain Rouge on March 23; a live Jerry Springer-esque “talk show” dubbed Sally Jesse Donahue on April 26; a two-day music festival by rock band Timmy’s Organism on May 16-17; No Fucks Given Wrestling on June 7 and Aug. 16; and a queer honky tonk event called Howdyfest on June 21.
Walker says they also want to try other events like craft nights and dog-friendly days on the patio, among others, as well as embracing Detroit’s resurgent sports fandoms.
“This year, we’re really trying to bring back our sports crowd,” Walker says, adding that the bar got a lot of fans of the long-suffereing Detroit Lions this season. “We bought a 75-inch TV that’s on wheels. … We had a great crowd for the playoffs. It was a bummer [the Lions] didn’t go further, because we spent this whole season trying to figure out how to get the TV to work… We finally figured it out on the day of the last playoffs [game], when they lost. So, hopefully next year!”
In keeping with the spirit of the bar, there is no cover charge for veterans for events.
The Old Miami 45th anniversary party starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1; 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit.
