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RESTAURANTS + BARS

Melody Baetens

The Detroit News

Warren — To Rick Cocklin and Dave LaPorte, stopping in at Victory Inn for a beer is like visiting the famous bar "Cheers".

"We met here," Cocklin said as the pair shared a table and a couple of cold ones Tuesday afternoon at the longtime bar and restaurant on 12 Mile. "Everybody in here, we're all friends."

LaPorte added: "Everybody knows everybody's name."

Cocklin, 61, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been visiting the restaurant three times a week for the last 13 years when he comes to Michigan for work at American Axle, while LaPorte, 65, of Warren, has been a customer for more than 40 years.

But the pair and other regulars will have to find a new place to meet after April 14, when Victory Inn will close after more than 75 years and make way for a Sheetz gas station/convenience store.

A farewell party is set for 2-10 p.m. on April 12, giving longtime customers and neighbors a chance to say goodbye to the bar, fellow customers and staff. It's also open daily until then, aside from Sundays.

"Over the course of last 23 years I've pretty much have been through everything here," said Beverly Suida, owner and manager of Victory Inn. The 64-year-old restaurant owner said she's ready to cut her 16-hour shifts six days a week to retire and spend time with her family.

Suida's family involvement with the business, a staple for blue-collar workers, dates to 1946, when her grandfather Alphonse DeLamielleure named it the Victory Inn in recognition of the U.S. triumph in World War II. When the business opened, it was surrounded by farmland and dirt roads. Suida, DeLamielleure's eldest granddaughter, remembers coming to the restaurant when she was 7 to steal her grandfather's chocolate from behind the bar.

"It originally opened in '42 ... they didn't run it until after the war," she said. "They had women running it for the first couple years of the war, then when Grandpa came back from the war, he started working here.

"He had no clue what was going to happen in this area. He just knew a bar would work because people drink when they're happy, when they're sad, when they're upset, whatever, they drink, so he thought he would have a chance of raising his 10 kids joining the bar business," Suida said.

The bar/restaurant will be demolished to make way for a Sheetz gas station. The Pennsylvania-based, 24-hour convenience store chain has been rapidly expanding its footprint in Metro Detroit and has plans to open a total of 60 locations in Michigan. This Sheetz, at 5970 12 Mile, is tentatively scheduled to open by the end of this year.

Suida said she thinks the corner on 12 Mile and Mound roads is a good fit for the convenience store/gas station but she'll miss her loyal customer base and staff. Suida would not disclose the price Sheetz paid for the restaurant.

"I didn't get millions. I got enough where I can walk away comfortably but have to work again," she said. "I got partners ... I got debt here because of COVID, still got a million-dollar addition ...

"Between the Big Three bankruptcy, between the alcohol law change, the no-smoking law change, then we had the COVID. I mean it's just but one thing after another since 2008 and the COVID was probably the most treacherous thing," she said. "It was just a chain reaction of tough times. Harder than I ever thought imaginable."

In 1984, Suida's grandparents sold the business to Randall Man, who Suida worked for as a waitress and manager until she and her siblings, James and Kathryn Suida, bought the business in 2002.

In October 2019, the restaurant added 2,500 square feet to its footprint and was "just on the upswing" when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following March, resulting in what Suida calls "a fight ever since." So when Sheetz inquired in 2022 about buying the property, she agreed to let the chain replace Victory Inn and the adjacent Skip's Auto Care, which is relocating to another site in Warren next month.

"I am not closing because I have to," Suida said. "I'm closing because I'm tired, I want to retire and spend time with my great nieces and nephews. I have 13 of them."

Suida served guests and cooked food Tuesday while customers like John Gazdik, 62, of Warren had one of his last drinks at the bar. He used to come when Suida was a waitress more than 40 years ago.

"If you came here at lunch time 20 year ago, this place would've been filled with all blue-collar, whether it be from General Motors and/or Chrysler," Gazdik said. "It's very unfortunate that big business is going to come in and take them out.

"It's kind of a bummer deal. It's like Walmarts when they came in to take over everything. It's another business trying to take over all the small mom-and-pop places. ... It's more commercial. It's not about the people anymore. It's all about the money and the dollar."

Dennis Tramel, 76, of Warren expressed similar sentiments, saying the bar was like a second home for him and the place where he met his wife 27 years ago. Tramel was sitting with Ed Lutz, 79, of Warren, reminiscing about golf and casino outings with other regulars that Suida organized.

"I came up here to get a burger and a beer at 11 o'clock. I figured, 'Oh no one would be there.' The place was packed, guys drinking beers and shots, taking a brown bag home to go back to work," Lutz said.

Suida added: "They (customers) kept me alive through everything. They keep coming. Special people," she said. "It's just the fact of how great my clientele base is and how good the people are here. ... I'm sad for my people. Big-time sad because it's family and they gotta find a new home and I don't know where that's going to be ... It's just time to change."

Other closings on the east side

The Vic isn't the only east side watering hole shutting down this month. Jamboozies Sports Bar & Grill at 42066 Van Dyke near 18 1/2 Mile in Sterling Heights is also closing after a long run.

"Sadly, after 25 years in business, we are closing our doors for the last time next week," reads a statement posted to Facebook Monday. "We want to send out our most heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all that have supported our business throughout this quarter of a century. Although it is a sad time for us, we remain incredibly grateful to all of you and have enjoyed the honor, the privilege and the pleasure of your ongoing support and friendship."

The last day Jamboozies will be open is Sunday.

Owners of Twisted Rooster Bar & Grill at 45225 Marketplace in Chesterfield Township announced Tuesday that the last day of business is April 9.

"No, this is not some 'Twisted' April Fools' Day joke, the decision has come quickly and we didn't want to wait another day to give you a chance to celebrate with Twisted Rooster," reads a statement posted Tuesday from the classic American restaurant's Facebook page. "From our family to yours, thank you for the memories, the laughter and for allowing us to be a part of the Chesterfield community. It has been our greatest pleasure to serve you."

A newer business, Hillside Hearth on Mack in Grosse Pointe Woods also posted to Facebook recently that its days are numbered. A cute bakery that sells muffins, quiche, scones, naturally leavened artisan bread, sandwiches, coffee and other sweet and savory treats, Hillside Hearth was open about five years.

"We hope you’ll visit and share a memory and help us make our last days in business happy and fulfilling," reads a statement posted to social media.

The bakery, at 19487 Mack, is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday until April 26.

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