The Temple Bar, the iconic watering hole in the old Cass Corridor that partially collapsed and was forced to close last May is scheduled to reopen Tuesday at 1 p.m.
The nearly 100-year-old bar passed its final state inspection Friday, and regulators have released its liquor license from escrow, says owner George Boukas.
Reopening was no easy task. Because the bar resides in the Cass Park Historic District, Boukas was required to rebuild using the same original material – heavy limestone from the 1920s.
“They wanted everything to be replicated, not only in the exact form, but the exact materials,” Boukas explains. “Limestone had to be quarried and cut to specification.”
To help save the bar, Boukas raised more than $23,200 in a GoFundMe campaign.
The cause of the collapse isn’t entirely certain. A structural engineer determined that the collapse was not caused by the structure of the building. Boukas had worried that a 20-year-old sinkhole in front of the building played a role.
The structural engineer’s “unofficial determination” is that “because of all of the construction in the corridor, the vibrations from all the trucks just started the separation,” Boukas says.
The Temple Bar is just a block north of the Red Wings arena and its abundance of parking lots.
Boukas says he’s deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the collapse.
“My heart was trembling,” Boukas says. “The love that was given not only to myself but to my staff has been totally amazing.”
Boukas is also grateful that the collapse occurred early in the day when the bar was not crowded. Later that day, the Temple Bar was hosting a party with DJs to celebrate Movement Music Festival, a world-renowned celebration of electronic music and Detroit’s techno roots.
“It could have been catastrophic,” Boukas says. “I was cringing for a week thinking my friends could have died. It could have been a lot worse.”
Boukas’s father opened the Temple Bar in 1927. It has become a cultural institution that has served as a gathering place for artists, musicians, and creatives, reflecting the Cass Corridor’s identity as a hub for Detroit’s bohemian and alternative culture. Its longstanding presence has made it a cornerstone of the neighborhood’s nightlife and artistic expression.
The Temple Bar was often featured in the comedy TV series Detroiters.
It’s also one of the last businesses to survive the gentrification of the Cass Corridor because Boukas has refused to sell to deep-pocket developers.
