Remember Detroit’s Chinatown? Or a time when waiters spoke with convincing French accents? And then there’s the stories of Prohibition, the Purple Gang, and the police.

Detroit’s historic restaurants, many no longer in existence, were the stage for many of the Motor City’s dramas, but also for myriads of marriage proposals, family celebrations, and business deals. And for decades, locals were fortunate to have a vast array of history infused bistros in which to celebrate. In 1962 patrons at the Caucus Club were among the first to hear the voice of an 18-year-old Barbara Streisand.

The 1933 repeal of the Volstead Act was celebrated in raucous style at Cliff Bell’s, and the Machus Red Fox in Bloomfield Hills will forever be associated with the 1975 disappearance of ex-Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa.

Grab a cup of coffee! We’ve got some stories to share.