UFO Factory

Stopped in on Thanksgiving evening and the place was empty which was no surprise however the bartender a Korean girl (?) Was one of the worst bartenders I’ve encountered in a long time. Two people at the bar my son and I and after she got us a beer she walked all down to the end of counter .No polite chit chat, no what brings you here not even a happy thanksgiving. Hey fellas grab yourself some popcorn. Nothing, I guess we weren’t hip enough for her. Now don’t get me wrong we didn’t expect to have an intimate conversation but be polite especially given the night and amount of people in the place.

Friendly staff nice crowd. The band playing while I was there was good. Star Wars themed interior was cute. Dive bar, but good dive bar.
I can only give them 2 stats because the men’s room was a joke. No walls on the one stall in the restroom. It would be hard to get the entire restroom to yourself and locked on a busy bar night.

My favorite venue in Detroit. Friendly staff, good food, and reasonably-​priced drinks, too!

It’s silver inside! The food is everything I always dreamed a bar would have. Drinks are great and you don’t feel broke after slamming a few or a ton down. Best shows in town but my favorite are the movie nights on Tuesday or just going in there for some pinball. Also there’s really neat art from local artists on the wall that changes often, if arts your thing. My thing is hot dogs.

Love this place always a blast. Then add music, great service and awesome hot dogs perfect!

They don’t even make UFO’s in there and they don’t allow stealing. What a rip off. Yummy Dogs.

Some of the best curated art shows and live music in the city from local and out of town artists. Recently got the Laika Dogs up and running and the classic chili dog is my fav, but the other adventurous styles are good as well. Decent prices and good sound system. I still haven’t made it to a movie night, but the choices are always something I’d like or love to see, ranging from cult classics to obscure music docs. Sunday has a really rockin karaōke night with a really diverse crowd, which on some nights gets really fun with impromptu dancers and crowd participation.

Love UFO Factory! I wish Ann Arbor had one! Thankfully UFO is only a short drive away. I’ve been lucky enough to attend shows there as well as perform and my experiences have been nothing short of great. They support home grown as well as well known touring acts. They fill a niche for that size of a bar — and do it well. Add in the delicious hot dogs and you got solid gold. NOW — on a busy night, are you going to be greeted with happy faces if you do something out of line? Will you experience a band who have sound issues? Have you ever been to a bar before? Fear not, bar goers — UFO is a friendly + killer spot supporting the sound and look of Detroit. And I hope it does it for a long long time.

The UFO Factory is painted silver on the inside. When bands play there… it looks as if they are standing at the entrance of E. T’s UFO. Why does this matter?
It matters because if I’m in a band that plays at the UFO Factory, we’re going to look great! You should take your band photo on their stage!
Besides being great for bands performing… UFO Factory also serves hot dogs and tator tots during the day a la Laika Dog Detroit, who don’t seem to mess around (they have a PB and J hot dog).
Throw a few quarters into their arcade games for some quick action, or into their brilliantly curated jukebox which plays grade A music from collections that took years of blood and guts to build.
I’d give this place a million stars for just being the kind of place I can take my friends from out of town and brag to about.

The food is so delicious and affordable. I’ve tried almost all the hot dogs (with vegetarian field roast). The chili dog is stunning, and I’m so happy to be able to have vegetarian chili on it. They really figured out how to make the good bad stuff vegetarian and vegan friendly. You can get nacho cheese, pickled veggies, Kim chi and other crazy shit. I am way into the food here. The ketchup vinaigrette may sound unappealing in theory but is good, not very ketchupy.
Shows are good here, big outdoor smoking area which is nice if it gets packed. Impressively curated art shows. Party store productions does a great job with music programming. Good juke & free popcorn with seasoning! Movies on Tuesdays & karaōke on Sundays. DJs and live music through the week and on weekends. Oh! And there’s a photo booth and arcade games. Lots to see & do here.

I am prone to awesomeness so this place fits my needs!
Great food!
Great people!
Great music!
Thank you UFO for being there in my time of need!

UPDATE: A few nights ago, I had my first experience at the UFO Factory. Upon seeing my review, one of the owners was kind enough to reach out to me personally. In the end, he spoke with the bartender (who apparently thought I had been trying to steal) and extended a sincere apology for the mistake. All is well.
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Excerpt from original post:
There are two refrigerators with glass doors NEXT TO the bar displaying bottles of beer, energy drinks, and soda. I have a serious health condition that makes me prone to blacking out (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), in which case taking a seat and drinking a cold, non-​alcoholic beverage usually helps. The feeling came on strong, and there was little time to waste. I also have many allergies and need to check ingredients before consuming anything — I wasn’t about to miss the band I came to see because of anaphylaxis (I also have a condition called Mastocytosis). The two bartenders were at the far opposite end dealing with a ton of people, so to save time I asked those hanging out in front of the refrigerators to let me by to take a peek. I opened the fridge, checked labels, and found something safe. I turned to the bar, and waited a minute or two with my wallet in hand for a bartender. When one of them came over, and as I held out the bottle of Mexican soda to ask him how much I owed, he promptly snatched it out of my hand. «This isn’t a convenience store!» At first I thought he was trying to be sarcastic and funny, but I knew he was serious when he proceeded to get in my face and rip me a new one (profanities included). He then used his best angry dad voice to herd the handful of us at the end of the bar two feet over, and hooked up a chain to establish a boundary line. He set down my drink out of reach, waited on a few other people, took my money, served some more people, then gave me my change and my drink. Had I not been on the verge of losing consciousness at this point, I would’ve gave him a piece of my mind. Luckily I found a seat shortly after; once my body to returned to homeostasis, I was able to watch the remainder of the concert that I had come to see.

It seems the rumors of black market tungsten sales being conducted here where just that. Cool place otherwise.

Decent hole in the wall in the former Hoot Robinson’s. Everything is silver, silver, silver a la Andy Warhol’s Factory. (The womens room is pink from what I’ve seen in photos.) The place has a decidedly arty vibe, though I could do with somebody other than the owner’s art hanging on the walls. Hopefully, that will change, and it will be sooner than later.
They book indie-​type acts here, similar to what you’d find at Trinosophes, only in a smaller, more booze-​soaked environment. If Trinosophes is a modern day Zoot’s, UFO Factory is a modern day Gold Dollar.
The sound is alright, and it’s some pretty tight quarters to see a band, but I like the set-​up better than the Lager House, or the cavernous, usually-​mostly-​empty-​when-​I-​go-​there Trinosophes.
They were supposed to sell hot dogs here, under the imprint of Laika Dog (keeping with the space theme there), but somehow that fell through, even though a Laika emblazoned barbeque remains on the patio out back. The only smoke you’ll find there comes from cancer sticks, with maybe a whiff of cannabis here and there, if you’re lucky. The only thing in the way of food is the free popcorn by the front door and some chips and pretzels behind the bar. There’s 4 different shakers of flavorings and they’re surprisingly not gross, like the garlic parmesans and ranch thises and ranch thats like you’d find at movie theaters that trifle with that type of thing. They got lemon pepper, jalapeño chili, seaweed and one other oddball that I can’t remember, probably because it was my least favorite.
I like that there’s a line of booths against the wall opposite the bar. They have a couple old school b-​list video games and a pinball game, too. I used to play Vanguard back in the day, and used to be good, too, but found myself very rusty when I tried to reacquaint myself here. I could never even remember what the next board looked like til I struggled on through to it. Oh well, I had fun, and each game only set me back a quarter.
There’s also a jukebox by the front door, and it’s a cornucopia of a music snob’s fan favorites. I think some old Sabbath might be as close to the mainstream as you’ll find.
And fortunately, I did not come across the phrase «New Detroit» at all on either of my 2 visits here. (It would have been 3, but Jonathan Richman sold out.)
I could totally see Jessica Care Moore’s online rant about that phrase. If not outright pissing on Detroit in the name of white gentrification, it at least comes off as some elitist hipster bs, so I was glad not to see it anywhere here.
As others have noted, parking here sucks. UFO doesn’t own a lot. I try to ride my bike here, as long as the weather isn’t godawful.

Not great. Just went to see a show, and sound was awful, crowd was obnoxious, employees were super stressed. Corporate venue narst

Great lil bar! Great staff, shows, etc. you can tell that a lot of heart and soul went into this place. IUFO factory!
It’s a small place though so if you’re going to a show that’s sold out, it can get crowded.

Decent venue with decent sound. Not as good as the magic stick lounge though. Not the greatest layout for shows
Something Cold events use an insane amount of fog. It’s way over the top. Surely there must be a law against this? It distracts from the show IMHO
Don’t park in the parking lots, they are WAY overpriced. I dont believe they are owned by UFO though

At UFO Factory it’s «who you know» not «what you know».
While dog sitting for a friend, I spotted the «good food» sign above UFO Factory and went in search of vegetarian take out.
On a Tuesday afternoon the place was all but empty. The bartender was seemingly giving tending lessons at the bar and didn’t acknowledge me til she saw the adorable puppy I was with. «I’m sitting for a friend down the street» She then grilled me on who I knew that may live by the area, continuously asking last names and descriptions of those she may recognize or know.
I didn’t purchase anything so my review is biased. I look forward to the «vegetarian, locally sourced» kitchen the bartender told me would soon be coming to the UFO factory, but left there feeling like i just wasn’t cool enough or knew enough cool people to be accepted there. Board games and a music venue sound great, but I shall continue to look for my own personal Cheers.

We went here on Friday for happy hour — I wouldn’t recommend it for that, but I do think it would be a fun music venue later in the evening when there might actually be other people there.
There’s interesting art on the walls and a jukebox.
The free popcorn with seaweed, curry, old bay seasoning and lemon pepper options is cool too.

The place is chill, it would be my neighborhood bar if I could walk there. The drink choices were varied and they offered free delivery from Rub if chowing on their popcorn isn’t enough. You have a choice of cumin, pepper, and other delights to sprinkle on, so enjoy. The movie playing caught my eye as well as the CLEAN pink ladies room. The bartender was cool, chill, and quick with the drinks and check.