Canadian-based dive bar tour through Detroit, WindsorEats, pauses due to looming tariffs
(CBS DETROIT) — A Windsor, Ontario-based tour and event company is pausing its popular Detroit dive bar tour in response to President Trump's potential tariffs.
Organizers said it was a hard decision to pause the tours as they were making the Windsor-based company money and, at the same time, putting money into local Detroit bars.
"There's no way we can be giving to another community when our community is going to need as much support as it can possibly get," Adriano Ciotoli, co-owner and founder of WindsorEats, said.
For the past ten years, the " D-Tour: Detroit Dive Bar Tour" has been one of WindsorEats' most popular tours, selling out almost every week. The bus tour takes 50 people from Windsor to Detroit to visit lesser-known, and sometimes struggling, dive bars.
"(You) really get, in my opinion, a true feel of kind of the heart and soul of Detroit," Ciotoli said. "A lot of these establishments are kind of dying and falling by the wayside. And we really wanted to showcase the ones that are off the beaten path, that not many people know about."
Ciotoli said the tours have been great for his business and a lifeline to the Detroit bars they consistently bring patrons to.
"Some have messaged us saying how thankful they are that it's been able to help them keep their lights on, and pay their bills, and be able to stay open. While others actually take that money and give it back into the community," Ciotoli said.
But he said with the looming tariffs, he had to make the hard choice to pause the Detroit tours, saying at this point they have to stop crossing the border and focus on putting their spending back into their own community.
"If we can redistribute the spending of all those guests that are coming on our tours back into our community, and the small businesses here, we're going to focus on that," he said. "Having a great neighbor is amazing, but when your family needs you, and we look at the small business community here as our family, we kind of have to focus on that."
He said the response to their decision has been overwhelmingly positive, and not just from the locals.
"We're getting a lot of messages from Detroiters and Michiganders that are extremely positive and supporting what we're doing. They're saying it's unfortunate that it has to be done, but they completely understand," Ciotoli said.
Ciotoli said he hopes the pause on the tours won't last long, and invites any Michiganders that may want to support them over for a visit.
"The border is still open. We still love our American friends and neighbors, so they can absolutely come over," he said.
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