Bars, breweries & distilleries / Downtown
Anchor Bar
Downtown bar on Fort Street since 1959, with pizza, cold beer and one of Detroit's wildest gambling-raid stories.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Anchor Bar has been around since 1959 and now pours on West Fort Street. Its best story starts on May 6, 1971, at the old 4th Street Anchor, when two pool players hopped the bar and announced a raid. Police and the FBI accused owners Leo and Chickie Sherman of running a $40,000-a-day gambling ring, but after three years in court the case was tossed because the Justice Department had forged wiretap authorizations. The lead FBI attorney later became Leo's friend and held his 1996 retirement party here.
- Downtown bar dating to 1959
- The famous 1971 raid that fell apart in court
- Pizza and bar food, open until 1 a.m. on weekends
- Books social and corporate events
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¼ · Stay
Sleep right around the corner
The Detroit Club2 min walk · Downtown Detroit
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Detroit Downtown – Fort Shelby2 min walk · Downtown · Financial District / West Lafayette (near Huntington Place)Book direct ↗
Detroit Foundation Hotel5 min walk · Downtown · Financial District (near Huntington Place)Book direct ↗
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-10-01
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
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