Kubiak’s is like a bar from a Frank Capra movie
Sitting on the state line straddled between South Bend and Niles, Kubiak’s Tavern isn’t the type of place you go to for its hidden-gem soups, chili, hamburgers or appetizers.
In fact, the only food available at the dimly-lit pub comes in snack bags that are hanging from a small rack by the bar. Chips, pretzels and popcorn are about as good as it gets most days.
Instead, most people come to Kubiak’s for its affordable drinks with beers ranging from $1.50 up to $4 for a craft brew like Bell’s Two Hearted or hard drinks ranging from $4 to $6, says Diane Janowiak, the third generation of the Kubiak family to run the establishment.
“A margarita is about as fancy as it gets,” she says.
And yet, the lack of amenities, signature foods or hand-crafted cocktails works at Kubiak’s, which recently celebrated its 90th anniversary in the same family and at the same location where it’s always been, 319 Stateline Road.
A local watering hole on most days, Kubiak’s expands its clientele dramatically a couple of weekends each month when popular local bands like 1985, the Whistle Pigs, Memphis Underground and others are booked.
During those events, the 300-seat tavern can fill up quickly and space is reserved in the parking lot for a food-truck vendor from the area, Janowiak says. When there isn’t live music, Kubiak’s generally offers karaoke to take advantage of its stage and dance floor.
The music might be different than the tunes that were common at Kubiak’s in decades gone by, but not much else has changed since Leo Kubiak opened the tavern in 1933, just days after the end of Prohibition on Dec. 3.
Many of the chairs and tables are original as well as a phone booth in a corner and the overhead lights that have an art deco look. A manual cash register, which rings when the drawer is closed, is reminiscent of the type seen in the bar scenes in the Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“We’re the oldest, single-familyowned bar in the state of Michigan,” Janowiak says. And though she recognizes the need to make some eventual upgrades — for example, the floor needs to be replaced — she intends to be very careful about the changes that she makes.
“I want to keep it how it was,” she says. “I’m going to do some updates eventually, but I don’t want to change the vibe, for sure. People want the same feeling when they walk in.”
Janowiak, who previously served as vice president of operations for the South Bend Medical Foundation and now works independently in the healthcare sector, took over the business after her mother, Ellen, died in 2022.
Ellen took over the business when her husband Butch, the second generation of Kubiaks, died in 2002, Janowiak says, adding that she became the third generation to take over the tavern
because she “wanted to preserve it and keep it in the family.”
Though Janowiak has a full-time job, she says, the tavern pretty much runs itself thanks to an experienced crew of employees, some of whom have worked part time at the bar for years. Plus, she admits, she’s sentimental about the business and the generations of her family who have served up drinks for generations of customers.
“We have older Notre Dame alumni who come back here on game days and say the place is exactly the way they remember it in the 1970s,” Janowiak says. In those days, places in Michigan near South Bend were especially popular among students because the drinking age in Michigan was 18 until Dec. 22, 1978.
“They say they were bussed up here back then,” she adds.
Except for some flat-screen TVs, Kubiak’s Tavern has found a successful formula by remaining the same through its 90 years.
Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, noon to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Just remember to bring cash when you visit Kubiak’s because it’s still operating in a time before the advent of ubiquitous credit cards, though there is an ATM machine for those who are forgetful.
And think about sitting in the same chairs that were used by patrons in the 1940s discussing the war effort. The memorabilia alone is worth the stop.