“You walked in here and walked out and within a minute you smelled like something,” recalls longtime bartender Patrick Tierney. Though you can hardly see outside, a barstool at Gusoline Alley has offered one of the best views of the evolving character of Royal Oak over the years - and the broader changes rippling up and down the Woodward corridor in Oakland County.Īfter Michigan banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2010, the tobacco haze that hung low and thick above the shabby booths of the offbeat neighborhood bar gave way to a creeping stench that permeated every surface.
