Truth Music Café stakes its claim downtown

ike Watts has been in the nightclub business for 30 years, and his latest venture, Truth Music Café – opened in July 2015 – is situated conveniently on Broadway in one of downtown Detroit’s fastest-growing entertainment districts.

Watts promises a cool, comfortable atmosphere, friendly staff and “really good” bar food in a spot that features a 30-foot bar and two recently remodeled levels.

The former owner of Club Waterfalls and Club Polo claims to serve the best chicken wings in the city. Truth (yes, the name was inspired by the hit Starz show Power) is open Thursday-Sunday and caters to the “grown ’n’ sexy” crowd. On any given night, you could experience live jazz, poetry, African dance, karaoke or old-school hip-hop – 105.1 The Bounce is in-house on Fridays.

But with great fun comes great responsibility. Truth Music Café is 95-percent green. Energy-sucking incandescent bulbs have been replaced with LEDs, and the staff follows a strict recycling regimen. Truth was also designed with the hearing impaired in mind. Watts’ fiancé and her family are deaf, and the club’s sound system is specially designed to allow the hearing impaired to be able to enjoy themselves fully.

Downtown is booming, and Watts says he’s excited for the change. But being one of the few black-owned businesses downtown can be challenging, he notes, as the support from the community is not always what one would hope.

“If you want to have a city that is for us, by us, then we have to contribute to us,” he says.

More at ‪truthmusiccafe.com.