Park Bar and Bucharest Grill is all about Detroit

S o discreet is the Park Bar and Bucharest Grill that it doesn't even have a sign outside. But that hasn't prevented hipsters and townies from finding the simple, attractive nightspot. One door down from the newly renovated Cliff Bell's jazz club, the Park Bar is the first phase of an ambitious restoration project on the classic building that houses it.

With 17-foot-high windows enclosing the corner location, it's easy for passers-by to see what's happening inside. As a result, the bar has been welcoming a steady stream of customers since opening in December. But there is still no sign.

"We've done really well, its kind of an amazing thing," says Jerry Belanger, 47, who owns the bar with cousin Lee Belanger. He says they ran out of money for the project before they could erect a sign.

Old World taste

Bar patrons looking for a nighttime snack don't have to look far. Stashed on the Elizabeth Street side of the building is the Bucharest Grill. An open-air kitchen run by a Romanian family, the grill serves up four different shwarma sandwiches, Romanian meatballs, kielbasa and other stick-to-your-ribs selections. Pair them with the Park Bar's selection of 24 brews on tap and you've got classic comfort food with Old World flair.

An easy place to hang

With rust-colored plaster and exposed brick walls, and a wood-topped "bar in the round" in the center of the space, the Park Bar is classy, but not fussy. Detroit-centric photo art by Steve Adams brightens the place up while moody, understated lighting makes for optimum mingling for the mostly white 20-something weekend crowd.

Everything from Pink Floyd to OutKast to Patsy Cline make it onto the bar's playlist with Tuesday nights reserved for Detroit artists only. Wednesdays feature live acoustic music, and on Sundays the staff shows movies on the bar's five plasma screen TVs. The vibe is casual and fun.

"The goal was to be a local bar," says Belanger, who says they hired all local contractors and artisans to create the Park Bar and Bucharest Grill. "The spirit of the place is the spirit of Detroit."

Wendy Case is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.