Why I Love Dive Bars: Meltdown’s Journey Through Michigan’s Best Kept Secrets
I love Dive Bars! Cheap food, cheap drinks, good people, locally owned… what’s not to like? I guess I’m wired like that. Whenever I travel, I always try to find local places to get a feel for the local people and what they’re about.
I was recently in Milan, Michigan – the first time I’d ever been in the town – and ended up at Fenders. I was told it was a dive bar. Ok, I suppose it had dive bar features. It was small, locally owned, cheap food/drinks but a decent dive bar. Owner Tony Thompson told me that they’re a 5-star dive bar. Fair enough. As far as these types of bars go, it was pretty nice. The food was very fantastic, and the drinks were affordable.
I’ve Ridden To Many Dive Bars
As some may know, I like to post “Where my Harley-Davidson took me” on social media. It’s typically to a bar of this nature to grab a meal, drink, hang with some guys I ride with, and then off to the next stop.
I’ve been to bars from Milan to Brighton, Folwerville, Hell, and everywhere in between. Another good thing about dive bars is that they’re usually in good riding areas, in the sticks where I like to take my motorcycle.
The Biggest Dive Bar I’ve Been To
On a recent trip to Nashville, I went to maybe the biggest dive bar I’d ever been to. It was described to me as a double-wide trailer. That was a great description! The bar is called Santa’s Pub, and it is a double-wide! To add to its divy-ness, they don’t take credit cards, and there’s no booze, only beer. I was there on a Wednesday night during karaoke. A friend I was with did get up and sing a song, to the delight of the 20/25 people there, standing on floors that weren’t straight, and that’s being kind. The bathrooms were one-person tiny rooms, where you just had to wait in the area outside them to see if either was empty. Yeah, it’s a dive bar at its highest order.
As you can see from the list below, metro Detroit has many dive bars, and I plan on hitting as many of them as possible this summer.
Do you know of one I missed? Email me at [email protected] or follow me on my socials at @MeltdownWRIF. I hope to see you at a dive bar this summer!
