This is the only bar that has ever felt like home to me. Everyone is welcome. when I say everyone, I mean everyone! Whatever your style, musical interests, sexual orientation, age, etc. Woodruffs has something for us all, local bands, DJs, drag shows and bingo, bur/boylesque, karaoke, community events and special events. This is a great place no matter what mood you are in, it can be really hype or chill, up to you. Â And if that is not enough, I will also mention that they have the hottest, friendliest, and most talented staff you will ever encounter.
Review Source:Woodruff's is a fun hipster dive bar that seems to be currently trending towards a younger crowd due to recent competition with the Wurst Bar. They are both great establishments and I think the both fit different niches and will be here from years to come. Wurst is more of a gastro pub with great bar prices were Woodruffs is a cheap bar and music. Â
Apart from being a hipster atmosphere I have always felt welcome and relaxed at the bar. They are definitely a community location and are a part of Ypsilanti. They work hard to bring in local music and it is always a great surprise for Ypsi / AA East side who didn't really have many venues for live music.
Keep an eye on Woodruff's twitter feed. The bar will often be opened impromptu on hollidays and have odd events. You won't regret it.
One of my favorite places to see a show, for real. From the cozy atmosphere (I love a bar with lots of wood detailing), the fun decor (JFK cross-stitch, I'm lookin' at you), great line up of some of my favorite acts from around metro-Detroit, and some of the best bartenders around slingin' drinks and creating a VERY friendly, welcoming vibe. Honestly, coming to Woodruff's feels like coming home.
If you don't want to be up front for a show, hang back and enjoy the tunes from the seating in the back. Play a game of pool or some of the arcade games they have by the front door. Not too long ago they also added really tasty snacks if you're feeling peckish. From a variety of gourmet sliders, corn dogs, etc. all for pretty cheap and tasty. I'm not good at carrying cash on me but I usually have a few bucks to get a snack so I like that's affordable (food window is cash only).
Love the variety of the stuff they have going on here--open mic nights, Thursday night karaoke, great live music, dance parties, and awesome fundraisers like Mittenfest. It's a truly special spot that I'm thrilled to spend many a night at.
While I have to commend Woodruff's for bringing a lot of pretty damn amazing musicians to Ypsilanti and providing what has proven to be a very popular place to see said musicians, I have a couple of issues with the place.
Issue 1: The space just doesn't have any special feel to it. Â It is hard to determine what vibe they are going for. Â I like walking in a place and getting a feeling of what is to come, a first impression if you will. Â Here there is none. Â The decor is basically nonexistent and the bones of the place are exactly the same as they were with the previous tenant, Cady's. Â I would love to see some sort of specialization here. Â I am hoping the next time I visit they will have spruced it up a bit.
Issue 2: Â The scene. Â How is it that I am in my early 20s and I felt too old to be here? Â There were tons of young (I mean, there were lots of people there that I thought might still be in high school) aspiring artists who wished they lived in Williamsburg (I have actually heard that Ypsilanti plays Brooklyn to Ann Arbor's Manhattan). Â This place is hipster heaven. Â I've said this before, but I like to think myself very hipster-friendly (independent thinker, progressive politics, artsy indie-rock listener, etc.) but I really felt like I was just not cool enough to be there and I felt SO out of place.
I am definitely going to go back sooner than later since there are so many awesome events/shows there. Â I wholeheartedly promise I will visit again with an open point of view and try to find the hidden gems. Â Usually I only give a place one chance...but I want Woodruff's to be awesome, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, I want to blame the above issues on the fact that they were new and were just finding their mojo. Â I hope these to be true; I would love nothing more than to fall madly and deeply in love with Woodruff's!
Love this bar! Just wish they would keep to a schedule where there was a "free" night. The door rate does get a little old. I Wish that Thursdays were dedicated only to karaoke. Leave the shitty "experimental" and beginning singer song writer acts for Monday.
This bar is a great addition to the depot town area. Great bars already abound, which all have good specials. If Woodruffs would have some kind of alcohol specials more people would come.
Woodruffs has it's own niche and all the hipsters, hippies, dirties, tatties, and wanna bees flock. The decor makes everyone feel welcome. It's part of the reason I gave it 4 stars.
The full reason is because of the people and their passion for the business and Ypsi. Â Thank you for giving us a place to gather!
After many visits in various states of sobriety (or insobriety, as the case may be), I still can't get the rhythm of this place. Since it's a venue as well as a bar, it's hard to time when there's a cover-charge/band, and when you can just saunter in for a drink.
The crowds change like nobody's business. This is largely because some people come for the shows and clear out completely after the set. Then a whole 'nother group of people comes in creating a totally different vibe.
I have been blessed by insanely good company every time we venture out so it's hard to tell how much of the awesome is the bar itself and how much of the love comes from my friends. But in general, for newcomers, the busier inside, the better.
Andy, the resident bartender (and manager) is an A-One server and keeps this place a notch above the rest. He brings in the right people and sets the tone with his personality. Beer selection is impressive, but especially with those crazy specialty bottled brews that start at about 8 bucks a pop and escalate into the mid teens.
Pool table is in the back. Video games on the side. And the kids working the door are just the right hybrid between apathetic and ready to be humored. Once, one of 'em even enthusiastically bummed me a cigarette which, in my book, is first class.
Speaking of which, you can smoke juuuuust outside the fence of the patio but not while sitting inside of it (oh regulations and loopholes, how I love your absurdity). Patio can get pretty lively which is nice.
The water dispenser on the side of the bar is genius. Especially for old farts like me who need to balance their liquor intake with hydration, lest the morning beat the crap out of my stomach and head.
I swear I'll figure you out, Woodruffs. Please take pity on me for not being a local!
Depot town has long needed a walk up late night food joint, a music venue + a great neighborhood bar - now we've got all of them in one great place! Fantastic prices on food [below the five buck mark] + delicious options that range from fennel pollen fries to handmade empanadas, as well as amazing + unique ice cream cooler options. Superb beer selection, well-stocked bar, great entertainment, extremely friendly + knowledgeable staff - including a chef who's both personable and a genius at paring flavors in inventive bar food - the options here won't get boring. The water cooler is a nice touch, especially in the summer! What are you waiting for?
Review Source:This place is pretty neat. I hang out next door at Sidetrack allllll the time and never really knew about this place until recently. We came in for a quick drink after Sidetrack on a Tuesday. The place was dead, keep in mind it was like 7 p.m. They had a band setting up and i was told that they have live bands seven days a week, kareoke and an open mic night.
The atmosphere is great in here, very chill and they even have arcade games in the front area. The beer selection was great.
I dont know if they have food or not but I cant wait to come back and spend some time and catch a live show here.
Woodruffs deserves 3 stars for abringing live local music to Ypsilanti alone. Â My visit on a Monday left me unimpressed. Â There is no table service and the bartender was absent for the first 10 minutes I was there. Â The acoustics of the relatively small bar aren't bad, but the soundman must not know that cause the amps were turned up sooo loud that it was uncomfortably loud sitting on the far side of the room. The bass was so loud it detracted from the sound of the particularly good guitarist. Â The fireplace cuts off the line of sight to the stage for 20% of the room. Â The pool table is small, not regulation size & just sorta takes up space.
Woodruff's could be so much more. Â It is an intimate, smaller venue and if they could just get it right it would be outtasight.
I was just about to give this place four stars, but then couldn't think of a single reason not to give it five.
Everytime I've been there, on a dead night or a really busy one, I've gotten the same great attention from the bartenders. And the atmosphere is really comfy. I love the fireplace and the brick.
Having a place with great drinks and really good music is something that can't be beat as far as I'm concerned. There is the hipster factor, but they're there because they like it for the same reasons as everyone else. It's just a damn good bar.
If you've ever been in a bar run by Andy Garris, you know what to expect at Woodruff's before you enter the door. Â And as evolutionary theory would dictate, Woodruff's is the best incarnation yet.
Better stage. Â Better sound. Â More room to roam. Â Same great service and pours from behind the bar. I'm sure it can seem like a hipster bar from time to time, but they take they're drinking seriously here and damn it, I respect that.
The only ding is that the stupid fireplace ruins a large portion of the sight lines to the stage. Â Not a "I'm taking away a star" ding, because there's Kennedy needlepoint on it, and that sir, is a plus.
This place is OK for playing video games but the top most shelf liquors on display behind the bar are not for sale because they're "the owner's"??? Ummm, you won't sell me liquor you are displaying to me on a shelf behind your bar? I don't get it. Maybe if it was secret recipe liquor made by your father's father and handed down for generations but... I can buy 10 year Laphroaig just about anywhere (well except Woodruff's, there I can only look at it while I choose something much sorrier to drink)...
Service was very slow also (the bartender kept disappearing).
Went again last night and, indeed, tables and chairs appeared.
I just want to emphasize how much I appreciate the giant water cooler at the end of the bar for self serve H20. Really smart and *so* nice to just grab water on your own without waiting in line or bothering the bartender. Thanks Woodruff's!
'Went here on NYE to enjoy a drink and Mittenfest music with my girlfriend and a few other friends. 'First time at the bar and our experience was very enjoyable (though the line out the door, not so much). We managed to get in pretty quickly--the line was due to the fact that the bar was, intelligently, actually enforcing its fire-code capacity limits.
When I meandered up to the counter to get a beer, I witnessed some of the best bartending I have ever seen. The man in front of me, when it came his turn, issued an order something like this: "What? Um.... [long pause] I [another long pause accompanied by lolling rag-doll head, eyes looking around, wheels slowly turning, man trying hard to remember where he is] likesheataJayymizzon."
Bartender Lady: Hey there buddy! How about a nice glass of water?
She was not condescending when she said this; the man looked confused for a moment and replied, "Um.....Okay, yeah. Sure, that's fine?" and then stumbled with the utmost lack of coordination into a dark corner or out the door to puke somewhere (I suspect) while the bartender poured a cool drink of water (with ice) for her disappeared client. I thanked her for looking out for that guy, and for the rest of us, and ordered a Winter White ale (very good) and left a fat tip. She was really good.
The Space:
The space is nice and, well, spacious--exposed brick, with a kind of warehouse-cabin vibe (maybe this was due in part to all of the mitten decorations on the wall--called to mind a log cabin and snowball fights followed by hot chocolate by the fireplace). There're some arcade games immediately to the left when you enter, near the bathrooms, which were conspicuously wet (owing in part, no doubt, to the sobriety levels of the clientele on NYE). The bar is fairly long and they have some great beers on tap, including locals like the now-ubiquitous Bell's as well as some Arbor Brewing Company and Motor City products. Beers were $4-5 for a pint. Not cheap, but not out-of-the-ordinary either.
The Scene:
Was full of people wearing skinny jeans, flannel, baggy hats, too-big glasses, and other cliches of the already cliche hipster aesthetic. And while I don't usually enjoy being surrounded by such muchness, I didn't mind this time. The music was really good AND it was properly amplified, which is incredibly uncommon at any venue, especially a bar (major props to the sound crew!). I really really appreciated being able to hear the words of bands like Fontier Ruckus, whose sounds and lyrics were perhaps a bit down-tempo given the context, but also just good (period), regardless of context. As people filtered out after midnight, standing became more comfortable. I would've liked there to have been more seating, but suspect that there is under normal circumstances. If I were in Ypsi again, looking for a bar, I'd be happy to return to this one.
This bar opened about 4 days ago, brought to you by the former management of the Elbow Room and Savoy. The space was formerly Cady's, and you can tell. Fireplace, high tin ceiling, exposed brick... I'm not sure if it feels like a "rock club" yet, but maybe it isn't supposed to ("rock pub"?), and I know the customization of the space is far from completed.
The stage is high and pretty wide, sightlines are great from the majority of the room (otherwise, you are looking at the fireplace, which is cool too). The sound was good from the audience, and bands said they could hear well on stage. They plan to continually tweak and improve the sound system
The service is the best imaginable.
Woodruff's is off to a fine start and it will be interesting to see the place evolve and adjust itself in the coming weeks and months.
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