Regulars Mourn the Passing of Abick’s Bar Owner Manya Soviak

At 91 years old, Manya Soviak, co-owner of Abick's Bar in Southwest Detroit, lived a long and eventful life. Soviak passed away last Friday after a brief illness and friends and family celebrated her life during a funeral service at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church yesterday, according to ModelD's Mickey Lyons. For approximately 75 years Monya Soviak worked at the family bar serving WWII servicemen and neighborhood regulars.

Since her passing, fans have shared an outpouring of support and memories of the matriarch on social media.

The saloon's rich history is detailed in Soviak's obituary. The bar was founded in 1919 by George and Katherine Abick and is "Detroit's oldest continuously family-operated bar," Lyons writes. The Polish immigrants funded the project with the help of Stroh's Brewing Company.

Says family friend Kit Lindamood, "[T]he thing that continuously happens because of this place is that people find each other here. People just crash into each other who have history in this neighborhood, find out that they have this connection—their families grew up around each other."