The Well is a hit in Detroit.

Dearbornites will have a new watering hole to visit this summer when a new bar called The Well opens in the West Village Commons development on Michigan Avenue.

The Well’s co-Owner Ross Varacalli, a Dearborn resident, said the new bar (next to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the West Village Commons) should be open by July or at least by Dearborn’s Homecoming celebration in August. If The Well in Dearborn is anything like the one Varacalli and his partners operate in Detroit, it should be a hit in Dearborn.

The Detroit location of The Well, 1228 Randolph St., has a traditional British pub feel and has a laid-back atmosphere. It opened in 1997 and Varacalli and his team have owned it for the last four years. With its wood-paneled walls and dartboard, The Well in Detroit draws a student-heavy clientele from Wayne State University and the University of Detroit. Varacalli said the feel and look of The Well in Detroit will be carried over to the Dearborn location.

If student housing ever comes to Dearborn between the two parking decks, as is seriously being discussed by city officials and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, The Well would benefit, as would other businesses in the area.

Why Dearborn for The Well?

“We chose Dearborn because of my ties to Dearborn,” said Varacalli, a former bartender at the Double Olive bar in Dearborn. “I think there still is a market for a bar here. People want a fresh place to go in Dearborn and we can offer it. We have a good reputation with our bar in Detroit and we plan to continue that here in Dearborn.”

Separately, cigar aficionados could soon have a new place to buy and smoke cigars. A vacant building along Michigan Avenue could soon be replaced with a new cigar bar. Plans still are preliminary but the cigar bar could occupy one of the vacant buildings located between Monroe and Mason along Michigan Avenue. We will have more on this as plans materialize.