Nick Fink's, 3965 W. River Dr, Comstock Park MI ~ 11/14/24

Established in 1888, Nick Fink's has always claimed to be the oldest bar in the Grand Rapids area. Its competitor for the title was The Cottage Bar, whose claim as the oldest continuously operating bar in Grand Rapids can now be put to rest. They opened in 1927 and closed in October 2024. It's currently for sale.
So back to Nick's. It closed in 2021 due to the pandemic and re-opened September 2024.
The first Nick Fink was a Prussian immigrant and opened the bar inside a hotel. These are old photos from the bar's website and they are awesome.
Three generations of Finks owned the bar but in 2008 they sold it to the Gilmore Group. Gilmore put on some additions but kept the vintage wallpaper and patent leather booths.
They have an old safe near the entrance and say they've been unable to open it.
Here are a few more interior photos.
Self-serve free popcorn is available.
We paired our popcorn with a White Pine Pilsner, Brew Detroit Campin' and a Shorts Local Light.
For our shared appetizer, we ordered the Chicken Crispitos: chicken and cheese with chipotle mayo wrapped in flour tortillas. They were crispy and delicious.
There's another appetizer that sounded intriguing but was too much food for us tonight. We were lucky enough that a table near us ordered the Trash Can Nachos (tortilla chips, mexican cheese blend, black beans, jalapenos, diced roma tomatoes, red onions, lettuce, fire-roasted salsa and sour cream). And they looked amazing and towering 😊
One of the specials of the night was a Mushroom and Swiss Burger: sauteed mushrooms, swiss cheese on a brioche bun. Of the two orders, one burger arrived light on mushrooms but were otherwise tasty burgers.
The Olive Burger was decent with swiss cheese and house-made olive mayo but the olives were too subtle.
The Fink's Deluxe Burger was our last choice and like the other burgers, it was an 8 oz certified angus beef patty on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, red onions, and added cheddar.
They were all well prepared with a nice char and a still pink center. The fries were nicely seasoned with the potato skin still on. So overall the food we enjoyed here was excellent as was the service. This is our server, Tali, who put up with our questions all night.
And this, apparently, is Dennis Fink, a 5th generation Fink who happened to be there the same night we were.
Here's a room that was added on and includes a pool table.
Fink's Bar is charming and historic. They lay claims to having been visited by Al Capone and Ernest Hemingway but there's no proof. I would believe Al Capone more than Hemingway, however. Hemingway spent summers up north at Walloon Lake as a child with his family, and they traveled by ship on Lake Michigan. The first time they drove to Walloon as a family was in 1917. Hemingway married and honeymooned there in 1921 and never returned. So Hemingway hanging out at Nick's is highly unlikely. But let the legends and ghost stories carry on 😉
We can't wait to go back and visit Nick Fink's again.
This is their old and wonderful beer cooler.

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