Tempelbar is back.
The Midtown House at 2906 Cass Ave. suffered a collapsed facade on May 28 and remained closed for almost seven months as owner George Boukas struggled with the city council to negotiate the conditions for its reopening. On Tuesday, Temple once again threw open its doors to revelers.
Midtown institution Temple Bar reopened on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, after a nearly seven-month closure.
The nearly century-old bar was opened in 1927 by Boukas’ father and uncle, and Boukas has owned and operated the bar for 37 years. Long a favorite haunt of the LBGTQ+ community, the popular business is a welcoming watering hole for all.
Boukas learned the bar could officially reopen Tuesday when the state of Michigan reinstated its liquor license at 11 a.m. Monday.
“Everything goes through the City of Detroit Historic District Commission,” he said. “As far as the city is concerned, the building is structurally sound and safe, that’s what they were waiting for.”
But there is still work to be done on the outside.
“The Historical Commission only meets once a month,” Boukas said, “and they approved the original plans, but when the limestone was cut there were some problems. The change in weather will prevent the masons from installing the new limestone, so we probably won’t have that completed until early spring when the weather changes and the mortar can harden.
“There have been many headaches, but one by one we are knocking them all out.”
The shutdown for most of the year created a financial crisis for the company, Boukas said. A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $24,000 for expenses.
“On the 24th it would have been exactly seven months,” he said. “In terms of business loss, I can’t give you numbers: we lost seven months of revenue. I haven’t gotten a total on the construction aspect yet. But the bills still came, about $18,000 a month while we were closed, with no revenue coming in. Nothing could be closed off.”
Another major loss during the closure was that of Darla, a gregarious, 22-year-old cat who called the bar home for years and was a favorite with hundreds of customers.
“I’m not sure about a new bar cat at the moment,” said Boukas, “because I don’t know how busy it will be and the cat will need to be trained. When Darla was a kitten, we trained her not to get on the bar or go to the back. There is a whole training process going on and I don’t know if I am mentally ready to take on that challenge.”
However, Boukas is happy to welcome his loyal regular guests back to the bar.
“I just want to say that the support, appreciation and love shown not only to myself but to the entire staff is so greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing everyone again.”
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Temple Bar in Midtown Detroit reopens after facade collapse in May
