Once upon a time, Windsor was the King of Entertainment. Supper-Clubs with big-name entertainment was common, among the biggest were the Elmwood (covered recently here, here and here), The Metropole and the Top Hat (which we looked at back in May).
Today we look at some historical promotional material graciously donated by Sam Drakich.
A few shots of the interior of the Top Hat from a postcard, c. 1970
Below is a brochure put out by the Top Hat in 1983.
Check out that classic mid century wallpaper.
The Founder of the Top Hat.
Tune in tomorrow for Part II, when we head inside the Top Hat to make a final visit to this legendary local establishment.
Built in 1929, the house at 2177 Victoria Avenue was originally numbered 1545 Victoria, pre…
Crescent Lanes first opened on Ottawa Street in 1944 at 1055 Ottawa Street, opposite Lanspeary…
Above is a photo of the home of Mr & Mrs Oswald Janisse, located at…
in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on…
Photo from Google Streetview A long time reader sent me an email the other week…
An unremarkable end to a part of Windsor's history. The large vacant house at 841…
View Comments
Thanks Valerie--we all love that you guys are there too--some of my first memories of Windsor (when I moved here) are of TBQ--great food and great tradition--keep doing what you're doing!
I love this site. What a shame that all of our unique fine dining and shopping in downtown Windsor remains no more.
almond cream crunch pie. the base had thinly sliced almonds sliced lengthwise. you use this instead of crust. layer it plentiful. the filling was cherry flavoured but it looked yellow. most likely custard with cherry extract. the top was fresh whipped cream with the same almond slices on top as the bottom. thats it. simple but DELICIOUS. enjoy.
That sounds awesome!
Mike Drakich's Top Hat Supper Club was one of the great venues that made Windsor famous as a city of hospitality. The Living Room Lounge was a comfortable place to relax and meet your fiends for a glass of something soothing after a busy day. I have great memories of seeing George Carlin perform there in the main lounge with his " wippy dippy weatherman" routine and cherish the memory of meeting Rick Nelson in person and talking with him. The food was also superb. Windsor was the place to come back in the heady days of the 1960's for those looking for great entertainment in the Midwest.
My wife and I first dined at the Top Hat in '69. We didn't know about the entertainment (or the cover charge for such being parochial Detroiters) but the food was very good as was the ambience. We were just getting ready to leave when Rusty Warren (google her) came on stage and proceeded to entertain us for the next hour. What a hoot! We went back to the Top Hat several times after that taking in a variety of entertainments including the Chieftains, a really great Irish group of that time. Sorry to hear of the decline of downtown but we still have our memories. Is the Jackson Rose Garden still going?
Peace.
mark