Rocky's Bar and Grill, 633 Ottawa NW, Grand Rapids ~ 6/15/23

RIP Rocky's. Corewell Health bought the building this month and the bar closed on December 14. Here it is today (12/19/23). View the building while you can 😢

It was a happier place last June:
This historic building was built in the 1880s according to our server. It first operated as a grocery store and has been a bar since the 1920s. (I don't know what they did during prohibition.) The bar back and bar are original to the building.


This cabinet was brought in later - check out the martini shaped glass.


We were greeted by this friendly server/bartender, Gregg, and he started us off with a couple of Oberons, a Hazy IPA, and a Voodoo Ranger.

After a few minutes, no one was in the bar but us and we asked Gregg to turn down the really loud music and he happily obliged. There were also 4 TVs playing but with no sound.
Here is the two page menu:

The Pierogies were selected as our appetizer and they arrived nicely prepared with onions, scallions, and sour cream.
The bar has no plates so we were brought additional baskets to share the pierogies.
The other employee on duty was Bailey and he was tonight's chef.
The burgers were recommended and we all went with them - two mushroom swiss burgers, one olive burger, and a classic cheeseburger.


In a small bar with a small menu and two employees, our expectations were low for the food and we were all happily surprised. The burgers were juicy and all of them came with a good ratio of ingredients (lots of mushrooms and grilled onions), charred buns, and meat. Michigan Bread Company out of Detroit is the source of these extraordinary buns.

Walking around in the bar, you can see the owner is a boxing fan.

There's a nice patio out back.
The second floor holds live music events and also has a small patio.



This is a gem of a bar with great burgers and a wonderful staff. And as there are in many old buildings, stories of ghosts and hauntings are plentiful. Just ask 😉  


Here is property information from Michael Page, a fellow member of "West Michigan History Then and Now." Thanks, Michael!
 In 1888, the Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows a dwelling at the property. The 1912 Grand Rapids City Directory shows Charles Dowd had a grocery at the property, where he also resided. The 1920 GR City Directory indicates George E. Bigelow had a grocery there. In the 1950s, the Catholic War Veterans Club was located at 633 Ottawa Ave NW and as a young boy I remember having a 7-UP served to me. I was with my father and several other men and I remember it being a big deal! ðŸ™‚

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