Grand Rapids' Oldest Bar Is A Historic Gem Preserved From The Days Of Al Capone And Ernest Hemingway

One thing's certain about a bar that's 137 years old and counting: It has got stories. True stories. Tall tales. Wild nights. Ghosts and spirits — both kinds. Nick Fink's isn't just the oldest bar in Grand Rapids; it's a living Midwest legend. Since opening in 1888, Nick Fink's has stood the test of time — including the COVID-19 pandemic – and then some. Its biggest claims to fame are that its corner booth once warmed the seat of reputed Midwest mob boss Al Capone, and that its long bar — worn smooth from years of leaning elbows nursing pints — once held the noted tippler and literary giant Ernest Hemingway. 

There may not be proof of those stories, but Grand Rapids, known as "Mini Chicago," and a charming alternative to the Windy City, could have been a hideout for Capone when on the lam. Hemingway, who famously loved his bars, could plausibly have stopped while traveling from Oak Park, Illinois, to his family's lake house in Petoskey, Michigan. Some even say his "Nick Adams" short-story characters are tied to Nick Fink's.

It's not the only bar to lay claim to Capone or Hemingway — Captain Tony's Saloon in Key West also leans on its legends. At Nick Fink's, though, the names of the ghosts of drinking pasts are indisputably etched into the tables that remain. These do not include Capone or Hemingway, but even if the stories are half true — or not true at all — they're what give the bar its character. When you realize how old the place is — and that Prohibition was in effect in Michigan from 1917 to 1933 – you have to admit the bar might not have always been on the legal level, adding to the lore. The most important thing is that Nick Fink's still pours all the best spirits.

Nick Fink's, located in north Grand Rapids just west of the Grand River in the Comstock Park neighborhood – and nearly 200 miles from Al Capone's headquarters in the industrial Chicago suburb of Cicero – was founded in 1888 as a bar and brothel by Prussian immigrant Nick Fink. For a time, it also operated as the Riverside Hotel and a post office, before being passed down to Nick Fink II, then Nick Fink III and Nick Fink IV, who refuted the story about Ernest Hemingway. In 2008, Nick Fink IV sold the business to The Gilmore Collection hospitality group. Over its first 120 years, the building's upper floors also served as a dance hall, storage space, and living quarters for the Fink family.

The Gilmore Collection preserved much of the historic tavern's furnishings, including the original bar top and cash register, a wooden beer cooler, 1960s-era patent-leather booths, and a safe from 1901. Old wooden tables and the kind of intimate lighting you'd expect from a gangster's alleged hideaway round out the "old-bar energy." Framed newspaper clippings in faded fonts and black-and-white photos line the walls, breaking up patterned vintage wallpaper in velvet black and gold. 

Televisions — a modern addition — now play sports for the barflies. Other post-2008 upgrades include a new kitchen serving classic bar food such as burgers, burritos, and wings, along with a new outdoor patio, banquet room, and spirits that wouldn't have existed in Capone's or Hemingway's day. While the food doesn't draw crowds, that's not the point. Order a historic-themed cocktail or a cheap beer in honor of Nick Fink's legendary ghosts, and by the second round, you'll find yourself slipping right into the secret-soaked lore of Grand Rapids' oldest bar.