Longtime Owners of the Iconic Anchor Bar Hand Over the Keys

Vaughn Derderian Sr. and Vaughn Derderian Jr. join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson.

Jake Neher/WDET

Detroit’s Anchor Bar is a longtime fixture Downtown. 

It’s a place Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson can remember going for the first time in the early 1990s and thinking: “Wow… Now THIS is a newspaper bar. Crowded with other reporters and editors, framed pictures on the walls of journalists and political figures.”

Journalists in town have long considered the Anchor home — or at least the bar stool away from home. So have other Downtown employees, union workers and many activists.

Last week, the Derderian family, longtime owners of the Anchor, handed over the keys to new owners. It’s the end of an era.

Henderson speaks with Vaughn Derderian Sr. and Vaughn Derderian Jr. on Detroit Today.

Click on the audio player above to hear that conversation.

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  • Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.