On Detroit’s east side, the Raven Lounge & Restaurant at 5145 Chene Street is a modest building with a big musical legacy. Inside its cozy, wood-paneled “living room” setting, complete with portraits of the owners, the Raven stands as Detroit’s oldest blues bar. In 2021, National Geographic named it one of the city’s must-see spots.

Sam Watts opened the Raven in 1966, and by the 1970s it was known for hosting the annual Coach of the Year awards honoring Detroit’s top high-school basketball coaches. After Sam’s death in 1983, his wife, Myrtle, continued operating the bar until the mid-1990s, when she sold it to family friend Tommy Stephens.

Tommy, a regular since the late 1960s and a longtime Detroit Public Schools educator, bought the lounge after retiring. Today, he and his wife, Theresa, still run the Raven, which is the oldest continuously operating Blues Club in the city.

The Raven Lounge is part of Detroit’s Black history, mainly because of its role in preserving the city’s blues and Black music culture for more than half a century. It’s best described as a living cultural landmark of Detroit’s Black musical heritage.