Status
You know the kind of place the Post Bar on Woodward in Ferndale is the moment you enter.
The well-worn, unvarnished wood floors and minimal bar seem to say, “This is me. Take it or leave it.” Upon encountering the pleasant staff; it'll become immeidately evident that you made the right choice to stay.
“The bartenders are very cool, and it’s just laid back,” says 25-year-old Melinda Parstl of Detroit who was celebrating her birthday at the Post Saturday night. Parstl, who visits the Post about twice a week, says it’s the atmosphere that keeps her coming back for more.
The original Post Bar in Downtown Detroit opened in 1978 and the Post Bar Auburn Hills, Novi and Ferndale followed. Since it opened in 1998, the Post Bar in Ferndale has had plenty of party time to establish its identity.
“We were kind of the place to be,” says General Manger Wes Johnson, who has been at the Post for 10 years. Still a tried and true downtown Ferndale hang, the Post Bar is now known more for its great food, good music and reasonable prices than for its hip, body-grinding, weekend crowd.
“We went through an ownership change two years ago,” Johnson says. “It’s the same Post, we’re just getting better everyday. We concentrate more on our weekly business.”
Gear
The day after Halloween brought out some straggling beer maids, blood-thirsty vamps and more than a few naughty cops, but on a typical day, jeans, Polos and button-up shirts will do just fine.
Johnson says you’ll never see him in a $100 pair of jeans, and the crowd seems to follow his casual dress code.
Mood
The dimly-lit bar offers two U-shaped booths near the entrance and ample seating at the straight, no-nonsense bar. A terra cotta colored wall opposite the bar with tiles of various shapes and color add some much-needed interest to the otherwise plain walls covered with posters boasting drink specials.
“In Ferndale, I try to keep it a bit old school,” says Wes, explaining that the Post Ferndale doesn’t jump on every new trend that sweeps through the nightlife scene. “Every place has to find their own identity.”
Pick me up
A solid menu and daily specials make the Post Bar more than just your neighborhood watering hole. Take your pick from options like the Post Burger, a half pound burger served with lettuce, tomato and onion for $5.99, the Chicken Vesuvio Post Grinder (grilled chicken in Italian herbs and garlic sauce, provolone cheese, roasted red peppers with parmesan on cibatta bread) for $6.99 or your choice of soups, salads, sandwiches or appetizers.
Daily specials include half off all food after 2 p.m. on Mondays, $5 burgers and fries and $5 pitchers after 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, $1 sliders and domestic bottles on Wednesdays and half off quesadillas and nachos and $2 Coronas and margaritas on Thursdays. Happy hour is Monday thru Friday from 3-7 p.m. and features $2 domestic bottles and wells and half off all appetizers.
Entertainment
The Ferndale spot's bar is lined with four flat-screen TVs, and with four more flanking it, there’s no mistaking that this is the place to catch any game that requires a uniform and some physical skills. Watch Monday Night Football and enter to win a free jersey or just go to hang out and get your groove-on on the large wooden dance floor in the main room near the raised DJ booth.
“We play top 40 and old Post hits (think Bon Jovi and Kid Rock),” says Johnson. “We don’t get all caught up in the everything new.”
A game room near the bar features a pool table, darts, a video game, Golden Tee and foosball.
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