Via 313’s Neighborhood Bar Nickel City Is Now Open

Via 313 owners and brothers Zane and Brandon Hunt finally opened their new neighborhood bar and Detroit-inspired food truck Nickel City and Delray Cafe on East 11th Street, with mixed drinks, beers, and coney dogs. It’s in the midst of soft open for now, and will host an big opening party on Tuesday, August 1.

Nickel is meant to be a casual spot for drinks and bites. The bar has a major whiskey and brandy focus, including boilermakers (the namesake Nickel City comes with Coors and Evan Williams) and a solid bottle lineup. The rest of the beverage menu is full of drinks with quippy names, classic and house cocktails, frozen drinks inspired by New Orleans cocktails, and draft cocktails like the Aperol Spritz and Pimm's Cup. Whenever the temperature is above 99 degrees (like it’s been lately), all drinks are a dollar off. Beers come in cans, bottles, and mini-pitchers

Out back is the bar’s food truck, Delray Cafe, which focuses on Detroit foods. The menu features coney dogs, sliders, chicken wings served with blue cheese, French fries, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks.

Delray Cafe/Facebook

In the back will be pop-up bar space Cash Only, where visiting bartenders from across the country will take up evenings, serving special cocktails that can be bought only with cash. Future guests include Nectaly Mendoza from Las Vegas’ Herbs & Rye and Masa Urushido from Saxon + Parole in New York.

Along with the Hunts, Nickel’s team includes Craig Primozich (of Javelina), Travis Tober, and J.R. Mocanu as the bar manager. “We want Nickel City to be the bar folks go to to swap stories with friends over drinks to celebrating the special moments in their lives,” Tober described in a release.

Nickel took over the historic Longbranch Inn. That bar opened in 1935 and closed last fall. It kept the original bar top, which came from the Driskill Hotel.

Nickel is open daily from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Delray Cafe's hours are from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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