In a growing crowd of high-profile glitzy bars (i.e. - Hard Rock, Cheli’s…), trendy club types (i.e.- Pulse) and renowned old-school favorites (i.e. – the Anchor, the Elwood,…), it’s not always easy business surviving as a downtown Detroit bar owner.
A couple of years ago, Mac’s on Third looked like another small-name casualty when the owners – following a death in the family – were left uninspired to stay in business. As a compromise, last year Mac’s (which sits only a couple hundred yards from Joe Louis Arena; see it in the background?) opened only on days when the Red Wings played at home. And when the season ended, so too did Mac’s, a bar with longtime roots in the area, the latest name to fill a building that’s been one tavern or another for more than a hundred years.
With encouragement from friends, the owners of Mac’s reopened a few weeks ago, just in time for the hockey season that is so crucial to their business, but with plans on operating a full-time schedule. Tucked behind the ancient, mammoth Fort Street Presbyterian Church, Mac’s features a standard bar-food menu with remarkably reasonable prices. (A burger, fries and Coke for lunch came to $6, and no, they don’t call it a Big Mac.)
The interior, though small, is nicely finished and clean, updated with a mix of new and old Detroit sports memorabilia. That’s Mac’s. Old Detroit, new again. And definitely worth a stop the next time you’re downtown.
TO VISIT MAC’S: Mac’s on Third is located at 624 Third St., just a block off Fort Street toward the river. Call them at 313-965-2269.
