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Changes are ahead for the small red bar on University Avenue West in downtown Windsor.
Phog Lounge’s 10-foot mosaic bar made a dramatic exit on Sunday as a crew of about two dozen hauled the heavy slab 1.7 kilometres to its new Erie Street home — closing a chapter for the longtime bar and music venue.
Though Phog Lounge marked its final day on Jan. 2 with a 21st anniversary send-off, the venue’s owner told the Star the downtown building’s story isn’t over quite yet.
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“It’s a nice ending,” said Phog Lounge owner Tom Lucier, confident the venue is headed for an exciting next chapter.
“For me, it’s a victory to make it to the anniversary date. It’s a nice story. The narrative has an ending for this space. That’s a good feeling.”
Phog’s next phase will be in collaboration with Craft Heads Brewing Company, another downtown bar leaving its 10-year spot in the core after an unexpected rent hike.
Both bars are moving to a new location on Erie Street, adjacent to WindsorEats Food Hall.
“There’s so much excitement about the new unit,” said Craft Heads’ co-owner Jason Barsotta.
“There’s so much opportunity. We’re already starting to pair up and do events with WindsorEats. We’re really trying to turn that area into an arts and culture hub that we can continue to do multiple large events and festivals.”
While construction is underway to prepare for an anticipated March opening, Lucier said the two establishments are teaming up to launch a temporary hybrid spot at 157 University Ave. W. in the meantime.
The mashup, cleverly called Phog Heads, will be a “mutant mess of the two ideas,” said Lucier. It will also keep staff working and events rolling before the new location is ready.
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Craft Heads Brewing Company made the call to move last June after its five-year lease expired and the building’s new owners nearly tripled the rent.
“It’s a really bittersweet situation, because we obviously wanted to stay downtown,” said Barsotta. “Circumstances just didn’t allow for that to happen.”
Lucier said Phog Heads will soften the blow for those not ready to say goodbye to the two downtown bars.
However, he said that much of Phog Lounge’s character will transfer to the new location.
Along with the mosaic bar, laid in 1993, Phog’s hand-painted ceiling tiles, hot tub-shaped booth, and vintage televisions are also being packed up for the move.
The large fridge door, plastered in hundreds of band stickers and mostly hidden from view for years, will become a centrepiece at the new space.
When Lucier first opened Phog Lounge with former co-owner Frank Incitti in 2004, he concedes that he didn’t know much about booking entertainment, or even pouring a pint.
“It was not at all a thing that was supposed to be long-term,” Lucier said.
It didn’t take long before musicians started reaching out to him, eager to play shows. The cramped, 60-person room became a magnet for local talent and big-name acts.
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“Lo and behold, I didn’t have to search for anybody — they came to us,” said Lucier.
“It comes up in conversation among bands. When a band goes on tour, they tell their friends, ‘Let’s go to Windsor. We had a great time down there last time.’
“It was the exponential growth of word-of-mouth experiences from bands coming here, either getting paid well or not getting paid well, and having the best show they’ve had on tour.”
One standout show for Lucier is when the popular Montreal indie rock band, The Dears, played the Phog stage.
Another memorable name that toured through the Windsor venue was Owen Pallett, best known for his work with Arcade Fire.
Canadian singer-songwriters Julie Doiron and Chad VanGaalen were among other headlining names to play for Windsor fans.
“For me, the stuff that is lasting are groups like Five Alarm Funk, a 12-piece funk band that does not belong in this room, but they kept coming back,” said Lucier.
Over the years, the venue also became a hub for local musicians.
The Windsor-based blues-rock duo The Blue Stones played some of their earliest shows at Phog Lounge before becoming a widely touring band.
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Windsor-area trumpeter Russ Macklem recorded a live version of his debut album, The South Detroit Connection, at Phog Lounge, which went on to receive a Juno nomination for Jazz Album of the Year in 2024.
Asked how many musicians have performed on Phog’s stage over the last 21 years, Lucier said the question was impossible to answer, but guessed — “thousands.”
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On the busiest nights, the front windows fogged up. However, when the music faded and the band packed up, Phog Lounge became something more.
It was a place where friends and strangers swapped stories at the bar, maybe over a pint and a late-night poutine — all the way to last call.
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