Toast of the Town … Kelly’s bar owner killed by alleged drunk driver

Brad Ruff

By Charles Sercombe
Every once and a while Toast has to deliver bad news.
This column is usually about the exciting, fun things happening in town.
But pardon us for making an exception to express our sorrow of the passing of Kelly’s bar owner Brad Ruff.
Yes, Brad died.
He died while driving a motorcycle with his wife, Patti, on the back seat. They went through an intersection in a residential area in Eastpointe last Sunday, Aug. 15, around 7:30 in the evening when a driver blew through a stop sign and crashed into them, according to a press release issued by the Eastpointe Police Department.
Brad, 64, was dead at the scene.
Patti, 58, survived but has a crushed left leg.
Eastpointe police say the driver who crashed into Brad and Patti has a prior drunk driving record, and that alcohol “is believed to be the contributing factor” in this accident.
One of the charges he faces is that he was driving with a high alcohol blood level.
Eric Jermaine Compton, 39, of Eastpointe is facing multiple felony charges and being held on a $750,000 bond. Compton initially fled the scene in a car that was following him, but police later arrested him without incident.
This is tragic on so many levels. Both Patti and Brad had just closed that previous Monday on the sale of their bar, located on Holbrook Ave.
They were both planning to retire somewhere out west, maybe Arizona.
Kelly’s is one the last surviving dive bars in Hamtramck. Beers were cheap, and the bar enjoyed a reputation for its kitchen.
Burger, hotdogs, Friday fish fries, you couldn’t beat it for the price and good eats.
During the pandemic when bars were closed down, they did a bustling takeout business.
The bar was also known for hosting live music. We first became acquainted with Brad and Patti when their bar became the new home to blues bands back in 2010.

Patti ruff

That was after the former Attic bar, known back then as the “Home of the Blues,” on Jos. Campau, closed down.
That scene moved on over to Kelly’s and blues musicians and their fans were welcomed with open arms by Brad.
“We kind of stumbled on it by accident,” Ruff told The Review back then. “Now they (bar patrons) call it the new Attic.”
Ruff looked like a blues cat, too: he wore his Kangol-style cap backwards, had a soul patch on the chin and spoke with a distinctive raspy voice.
He was a pretty good cook, and he was a consistent winner in a chili contest held by PLAV Post 10. His secret ingredient, he would tell anyone: “Viagra.”
Oh yeah, he loved his motorcycle.
On Tuesday, evening, friends, former bar employees and patrons gathered outside the bar, which has been closed since it was sold, and held a vigil of sorts.
They took part of a fence from the bar’s lot and wrote on it:
“We love you Brad, rest in punks.”
Punks, you might wonder?
Kelly’s was also home to the Punk Rock BBQ. The bar was also host to the annual Dead Last Car Club, held every August. That’s where you could see the very best street rat rods – where the more rust the better.
Back to Tuesday’s gathering. There were a lot of remembrances shared.
Stacey MacLeod started the Punk Rock BBQ at Kelly’s, and found Brad and Patti receptive right from the get-go.
“They did whatever I wanted,” she said. “It turned into this love fest with us. It was like, come on be a weirdo.”
Johnathan Nadeau said Brad “never stopped working. He was one of us.”
Nadeau met his fiancé, DeAnnah Kleitz-Singleton, at the bar.
DeAnnah said Brad was kind of like a mentor. “He invested in people,” she said.
The new owner of the bar, who also owns Marble Bar near Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, has said that he plans to keep the dive bar look and feel of Kelly’s but make a few improvements, according to media reports.
Rest easy Brad. Know that many here loved you. And Patti, our thoughts go out to you and wish for a speedy recovery.
So, raise a beer and a shot for a final toast to Brad.

When it comes to good food and great times, Hamtramck has plenty to offer. In this column, we’ll talk about what’s happening at our bars, restaurants and at other events throughout the city.