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Business & Tech

Ducky Juice Joint Coming to Downtown Ferndale

The Oakland will open in May as a speakeasy-style bar.

Ah, the romance of the prohibition. When women were dolls, men were fellas and Fats Waller played constantly on a hidden Victrola. When everyone wore hats and the words, “So’s your old man,” or, “Oh, yeah?” were enough to get your ears boxed.

Ferndale residents will be able to pay homage to those good ol' days when a speakeasy-style bar called the Oakland featuring prohibition-era décor and cocktails opens in May in the old Nami space on West Nine Mile Road. 

Owner Sandy Levine, 34, of Berkley, has been involved in the restaurant business since he was 11 years old and worked in his grandparents’ deli in West Bloomfield. He said he was inspired to open a faux speakeasy by a '20s-themed bar he and his wife frequented when they lived in Chicago a few years ago.

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“There was something very special about that place,” he said. “That bar was very focused on prohibition-era drinks and intricate cocktails and hard-to-find ingredients.” Levine said when they moved back to Michigan a few months later, he decided he liked the idea enough to create one of his own.

The Oakland is named after a former Detroit speakeasy Levine said he learned about while researching the period. He said his main goal is to bring back appreciation for quality cocktails lost because of the prohibition.

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“There was a very, very high concentration on making the drinks taste good,” he said. “Then people were making spirits in their basement and taste went away for a long time.”

Levine said he plans to use high-quality ingredients for his cocktails, which will be priced $7 to $12.  Bitters will be made on site as well as homemade sodas and syrups. Levine said he will also use whiskey barrels to age cocktails.

So customers can slurp their Mint Juleps in an authentic atmosphere, Levine acquired the assistance of his mother, Donna Heligman, 59, who has been an interior designer for the last 38 years. Heligman said she is incorporating a late ‘20s, early ‘30s feel into the bar by using contemporary furniture that looks old fashioned, plus a few antique pieces from the era.

“The furniture is very unusual, let me put it that way,” she said.  Heligman said the outside of the bar will be non-descript and the foyers will be plain, enclosed and dark.

“People will not even know they’re in the right place,” she said. “Then you walk into the bar and it’s a beautiful space.”  Many sparkling chandeliers hang from the coffered ceiling Heligman said she uncovered while removing the 9-foot drop ceiling used previously. Heligman used textured wallpaper on the ceiling and painted it a metallic gold that she said will nicely offset the wood floors and black and gold carpet.

Ferndale Executive Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius said she’s seen the understated exterior approach work well with other local bars like the Bosco.

“Because it’s so non-descript it makes it interesting,” she said. “Every business owner that comes in is looking for a hook, and I think that’s probably what they’re looking for.” Sheppard-Decius said she sees the new addition to the downtown businesses as indicative of the market in the area.

“There’s a reason why these types of businesses are successful. It’s because consumers are asking for it,” she said.

Levine said he plans on having a soft opening in May and then a grand opening event soon after. He said it is important to him that the bar remains low key in keeping with the tradition of a real speakeasy.

“It’s very laid back and it’s never going to be a rowdy place,” he said. “We want to keep some sort of mystique.”

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