What is there to say about Jack's? It has been here forever, but for most of it's life it was…read morehidden to all those but a few who worked in and around it. Situated in the heart of Port Huron's South Park industrial district, it once was the haunt for blue collar Joe's who worked as the likes of Anker - Holth, Ogden Moffett, Gibraltar Sprocket and the old Autolife/Prestolite. It suffered when this area was hit hard by the rust belt woes of the 70's, 80's and 90's, with all but neighboring Port Huron Building Supply left, and by the early 2000's many wondered not if Jack's would close, but when.
As such, Jack's probably would have gone the way of so many small working-class bars, but a couple years ago some key things changed to ensure not only it's survival, but a comeback. The biggest was that the former Tomlin's drugstore, long the fixture at the corner of Electric Avenue and Connor Streets, was torn down. This suddenly gave Jack's a frontage that it never had, and it became "found "by hipsters in the area. It became a cool place to be, and suddenly 20-something's were seen packing a place that less than two years before was usually inhabited by a handful of Baby Boomers and 70 and 80 something's who had pretty much nearly embalmed themselves into oblivion.
Somehow or another, the word then worked its way down to the Detroit area and across to neighboring Canada, and it, along with Neil's across the street (the former Sportsman's) have become a new destination point in the community. The difference between this and so many other hipster places that serve drinks is that Jack's was serving PBR and Schaefer's before it was cool, and the atmosphere, in all it's Knotty-pine glory, is truly authentic rather than the faked stuff thrown together in many places.
The staff is usually pretty friendly, but it can now get hectic and a bit crowded on the weekend (still seems weird to say that for a guy that grew up in this area). Some might qualify it as a dive bar, but I just see it as your classic neighborhood hang out that thankfully survives into the 21st-century.
