The music might not always be a sound to behold, but the reopening of Royal Kubo in downtown Clawson is a sight to behold.
The venerable Asian-inspired karaoke bar and restaurant has completed its move from Oak Park and is crowing over its new location on 27 E 14 Mile Road, a few doors down from the Black Lotus Brewing Co. The new location doubles the space to 3,500 square feet in the old Clawson Shoes building.
The story of the Royal Kubo is one of the stranger ones about a bar in Metro Detroit. Once located in Royal Oak Township, it was in a section of the township that was annexed by Oak Park in recent years. Shortly after, Oak Park passed ordinances prohibiting Royal Kubo from conducting business.
The popular destination closed its doors and started searching for a new home. Royal Kubo owner Armando Santos says he looked at Royal Oak, Ferndale and Berkley, but choose downtown Clawson for a variety of reasons, such as its increasingly lively nightlife and availability of buildings in downtown.
"So far so good," Santos says. "It's a really nice area with a lot of young people."
For information on Royal Kubo, call (248) 588-2300.
Source: Armando Santos, owner of Royal Kubo
Writer: Jon Zemke
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