GUD FEATURE ARTICLE
The Sugar House Opens: A Look Inside the First Day
Just about any bar anywhere would kill to have the publicity and media attention garnered by the Sugar House over the past year. A Metro Times cover. Then an Hour Detroit article. More recently, an Hour Detroit cover. An inclusion of the blog on a Saveur list of 50 must-reads for foodies. And mentions from the BBC travel page, the NY Post, and The New York Times.
The funny part, of course, is that it was simply the promise of what this bar could deliver that drew the hype: During all that coverage, the Sugar House wasn’t even open.
All that changed last Tuesday when manager/bartender Dave Kwiatkowski unlocked his door on Michigan Avenue and served up drinks at the bar’s soft opening. Naturally, I did what any dedicated gourmand lush in search of a cocktail would do: I dropped everything, took a vacation day at work, and decided to capture in photos how the day would ultimately unfold.
(Once you click on the image below to launch the slideshow, you can use the mouse or the arrow keys to cycle through the images.)
Cocktails have become an almost revered form of public alchemy, and there’s a sexy mystique that has begun to surround particular bars, drinks, and the bartenders who make them. At 11pm, when the lights are dim and the gentle mist of a twisted lemon peel is giving your drink that perfect final note, that’s not an entirely unreasonable conclusion.
But as with any small business, the details that create that mystique are a bit less glorious. Dave has rather famously been dealing with red tape for eighteen months, and he had to complete a lot of construction in order to open.
Even on opening day, there wasn’t any real time to celebrate. Since he had no idea when his license would ultimately be approved, he didn’t already have all the right ice on hand, so friends brought him nice, perfect cubes of ice, and they shopped for a box of rye whiskey to help him open. He had to drive to the various liquor distribution hubs around town and collect his initial inventory – except that the distributors had run out of a number of things, including commonplace items like Sazerac rye. And so on.
Still, the daily routine of opening a cocktail bar is about what you’d expect: Dave, bartender Chuck Gellasch, and their bar backs juicing ginger, lemons, and limes; making syrups; mopping floors; stocking shelves; filling ice bins; et cetera.
Having gone largely unadvertised, the first hours of the Sugar House’s first day carried a modest, pleasant pace with a trickle of Slows’ employees, Dave’s friends, and neighborhood folks stopping in for a drink or six. There wasn’t any fanfare – Dave didn’t even have time after his prep work to change into the bar’s signature vest and tie ensemble – there were just good drinks, good folks, and a good night.
He’s still bringing in furniture, hanging artwork, and rounding out his selection of spirits, but all indications are the hype is worth it: The drinks are simply fantastic. But was it worth the wait and the hassle for Dave? It should suffice to say that I’ve never seen anyone so genuinely happy to be fetching a mop or stocking a shelf with bourbon.
2011.10.16 Evan Hansen at 5:09 pm
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8 Responses to The Sugar House Opens: A Look Inside the First Day
Fantastic article, and even better photographs. You managed to capture the amazing spirit of that night perfectly in both mediums.
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Went to Sugar House on Friday after the Wings game. The place was crowded about 2 deep at the bar. Took a while to get our drinks but it was well worth it. Fantastic drinks and energy in the place. The bar tenders were working their asses off as the drinks are more complex than a gin and tonic. Will certainly go back, need to try the rest of the drinks. Had a Gin Basil Smash, who would have thought basil in a drink.
Bill
Dave’s surely, unappreciative attitude towards me and all the other customers that I witnessed has repelled me from ever returning. Some of the choices of well liquors took me aback: are Old Granddad and Beefeater really acceptable for a “craft cocktail” bar? Perhaps; a gregarious bartender could explain as much to an interested customer inclined to support his business. Too bad that Sugar House seems to lack that.
Meant “surly”, not “surely”.
I’m curious what day you went in. The first week seemed pretty hectic, and while I don’t know that I’ve personally witnessed Dave being “surly,” I definitely saw him and his co-bartender Chuck rushed and focused on just getting drinks out. I can appreciate how that might seem cold to folks.
As you probably know, the business JUST opened a few weeks ago. I was just there this weekend, and there have been a ton of changes that you may find to your liking:
1) The bar just instituted rules last week to minimize the number of patrons inside so it’s a little more convivial and a little less crazed.
2) They’ve added a third regular bartender as well as tables and a waitperson. So things are speedier, and with the third bartender handling most of the table drinks, the two bartenders handling the bar seem to me to be much less rushed.
3) He’s been rotating some of his well booze as supply has opened up. Not sure what he’s using right now, but he’s been using Four Roses for bourbon among other things.
Obviously, I know Dave personally, but I’d like to think that I can be objective when it comes to drinks and eating/drinking out. It is, of course, one of my primary hobbies.
Anyhow, you might want to check it out again now that he’s had a chance to see what the crowd is like and get the day to day operations down a bit more. I think you’d find it more to your taste.
As far as Beefeater, we’ll have to agree to disagree there. I’ve got a pretty substantial home bar and have tasted a fair amount of gin. I have to say that I rather like Beefeater for quite a few gin drinks. It’s got a little flavor and some aromatics to it but not so much flavor as Tanqueray and not so much floral nose as Plymouth. The former can be kind of off-putting in an Aviation, and the latter can clash with, say, a Negroni. Of course, I might use occasionally use Tanqueray or Plymouth at home for a Martini, but Beefeater is my “house gin” because it’s versatile. I think it’s legit gin, and it’s a value to boot. (For the sake of having a reference point, my house bourbon is Buffalo Trace, house rye is Rittenhouse 100 when I can grab it and Wild Turkey when I can’t, and house tequila is El Jimador.)
I’m pretty sure I saw Dave kick a three-legged puppy once but only after he had stolen two dollars from an orphan.
Not sure why you’re fixated on the brand names of the base liquors. Did you order a drink made with one of these brands and not like it? Premium liquor may not be the right base for a cocktail for multiple reasons: When mixed with homemade syrups and bitters, much of the nuance will be lost anyway. Also, If there is aggressive flavor in the base, it could fuck up the balance of the drink. Finally, how many people are going to order a $13 cocktail no matter how good it is?
At any rate, these are not “well” liquors at all. Most bars carry well booze because they (and the majority of their clientele) could care less about craft cocktails. The consumer has to decide whether they want pay more for a premium brand and decrease the chance that their drink is going to suck. Beefeater and Old Grandad are the chosen base liquors for specific cocktail recipes to maximize flavor and minimize cost. Dave isn’t going to serve a cocktail that he hasn’t tested extensively or one that he wouldn’t drink himself.
I do understand how you might have perceived a surly attitude. Dave is a serious dude when he’s minding something. And there is a lot to mind when your business is in its first couple of weeks of opening. I don’t want to speak for Dave but I will. At this point, making sure a drink is perfect is more important than chatting up the customers. If having a conversation with the bartender is the most important element of your experience, I suggest visiting early in the evening.
My husband and I wanted a night out, we wanted something different, special, and drove around until we spotted a diamond in the rough, the sugar house in Corktown Detroit. What caught my eye was a chandalier , shinning through old fashioned window panes, and knew this was what we were looking for. This place is not your run of the mill corner bar, it has everthing from mood lighting , to upscale drinks and bartenders who are dressed in period clothing, dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, vest, and arm garter,throw back to 1920′ or 1930′. We were able to sit down and have a relaxing night out.