Cleveland Classic: Mitzi Jerman's Named One of Ten Great American Dive Bars

Playboy Magazine recently named Mitzi Jerman’s, a classic gin joint located in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood, as one of the top ten dive bars in the U.S. Why? One need only look at the image of Roscoe, the ancient, iconic mutt that likes to hang out on the bar’s windowsill and watch the world go by. He’s an imperfect guard dog, perhaps – but a great mascot for the working-class, ethnic bars of Cleveland. The bar has been around since Prohibition, and until her passing a year ago, it was presided over by Mitzi herself. Then in her 90’s, Mitzi used a walker to get around, but still liked to greet every customer by name, and to buy the new folks a beer or two. Mitzi’s is now run by her daughter and son-in-law. It’s not the same without Mitzi, but it’s still a great place, with a cheap pool table in the back room, a good jukebox, and tin ceilings throughout.

Here’s the text of the Playboy article:

”There’s a million bars in North America that stay open till the wee hours. How many close the screen door at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday? If that doesn’t qualify this Cleveland landmark as something special, well…there’s plenty of other reasons. Chief among them was the late, lamented Mitzi, who died in 2006 at the grand old age of 92 (her obit ran on the front page of the Plain Dealer). Now managed by her daughter and son-in-law, the bar is a shrine to the grand dame of Rust Belt tippling. Mitzi was born and lived in the apartment upstairs and presided over the family bar even when she had to scoot around with a walker. Open since 1908, the café kept the shots coming through Prohibition, cheered generations of Browns and Indians fans and gave workers at the long-defunct factories nearby cause to blow their hard-won paychecks. Thanks to Mitzi, it outlasted its competition, and is now the last of its kind along an avenue of shuttered gin mills. Though the bar’s namesake is gone, the Straub still flows, the pool table is still yours for a quarter and Mitzi’s legacy is intact.”

Mitzi Jerman’s Café
3840 St. Clair Avenue N.E., Cleveland, Ohio
216-361-8771