WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Sitting at the corner of 9th and Vinewood streets is a hidden gem and the oldest bar in Wyandotte: Gold Star Bar, which has been serving the community for more than 100 years.
The historic establishment was a topic of conversation at 7 News Detroit's recent "Let's Talk" event in Wyandotte, but Gold Star Bar is more than just a place to grab a drink. It's a piece of living history where the community keeps old traditions alive.
Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:
Current owner Joanne Cristoff, who has owned the bar since 1995, says the atmosphere feels more like a family living room than a local watering hole — and that's by design.
"If we don't know you, we're going to know you before you leave," Cristoff said.
One of the last remaining house bars in the area, Gold Star Bar has been serving up the same no-nonsense menu since 1923. And yes, it's still cash-only.
Those are just some of the traditions Cristoff plans on keeping alive for years to come.
"I remember as a little kid and once in a while, my dad taking us, and it was bars like this — it was your traditional bars. They knew my dad. The kids sat at a table with a pop and a bag of chips and that's what we still do here too," Cristoff said.
Cristoff bought the historic bar in 1995 not to change it but to protect it.
"I just wanted to keep it running and it's a neighborhood bar, which you don't see anymore," Cristoff said.
Cristoff says it all began with the original owner John Bozymowski, who poured his life into this Wyandotte bar.
"I feel lucky to be part of this as far as the history in here, even though I'm not originally part of the family," Cristoff said.
Gold Star has survived major historic events including Prohibition, the Great Depression and even a devastating fire that happened in the 1950s in the apartment upstairs.
"The neighborhood came to help and they tried to rescue the children and they were only able to get the one out," Cristoff said.
Pictures and articles hanging in the bar remind customers like Amanda Mjaeski, who has been coming to Gold Star Bar for more than 20 years, of that fateful day.
"Every time we bring someone new in, we show it to them. It's pretty astounding that this place is still here in the shape that it's still in and that it's still going," Mjaeski said.
She and another regular, Anthony Darrington, who started coming here about 15 years ago, say the bar may look like an ordinary house from the outside but inside, it truly feels like home.
"I was welcomed and embraced pretty much immediately and then after that, I found out that Gold Star Bar is really not the Gold Star Bar, it's really the Gold Star family," Darrington said.
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