Clink, clink. Excuse us for a minute, everybody -- we invite you to raise a frosty glass or mug:
Here's to TJ -- a visionary pioneer on West Canfield, where four craft brewers now cluster.
Traffic Jam opened in 1965 in its current building at the corner of Second. Here's a bit of historic perspective:
- Jerome Cavanagh was mayor and Lyndon Johnson was president when TJ began serving.
- Nearly three decades lapsed until Motor City Brewing Works opened a half-block away in 1994.
- Shinola came next door in June 2013, bringing glitz (though not beer).
- HopCat came to the end of the dog-leg street at Woodward last December.
"Our new slogan is 'Here before it was hip,' " says Traffic Jam co-owner Carolyn Howard. (Facebook photos)
The latest arrival pours artisinal ale from 32 taps. Jolly Pumpkin, a 98-seat outpost of a Dexter brewer, opens at 11 a.m. Saturday at 441 West Canfield, just east of TJ.
"Our business is 50 this year," says Carolyn Howard, who bought TJ in 1999 with her husband, Scott Lowell. "Our new slogan is 'Here before it was hip.' ”
The earlier owner added beer-making in 1993, becoming Michigan's first brewpub "after a legal battle that lasted more than 10 years," its website notes. The name was updated to Traffic Jam and Snug Brewery.
House brews include Michigan Pilsner, Stefanie's Blonde, spicy Rockin' Red Rye, German-style Doppelbock, Rust Belt Brown, Citrus Session IPA and Walter White Wheat.
Howard tells Deadline the couple is "not surprised it took so long for other craft brewers to come to the neighborhood because the economic climate was so bad for so long. Midtown made it through the recession based on the strength of the surrounding institutions -- WSU, the Cultural Center, and the Medical Center -- but much of Detroit didn’t have that advantage."
She and Lowell -- the street's deans of draft -- don't see Jolly Pumpkin and the other beer halls as rivals.
Craft choices include a pilsner, a blonde ale, a German-style Doppelbock, a brown ale, a citrus IPA and a wheat beer.
"The new businesses will provide a huge draw to the neighborhood," Howard said Thursday in an email interview. "Investment is never a zero-sum game. It helps everyone in the vicinity.
"We have already seen a number of new customers in here as part of a walking craft beer tour, and that number will only increase as the weather gets better."
In that spirit, the entrepreneur who gambled on an evolving area adds: "We don’t see ourselves as pioneers -- rather stewards of the neighborhood, working to make our immediate surroundings better . . . for all who live, visit, or want to conduct business here."
Who's ready for another round to toast that cool combo of commerce and civic-mindedness?
Related article:
Midtown Beer Bonanza: Jolly Pumpkin Opens for Lunch Today and Thursday, April 7
