03/19/2026
From an original Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Sandusky — and our building is right there in the middle of it.
The pink section at 314-316 East Water Street? That's us. The building you're sipping cocktails in was once part of the John G. Dorn Winery — one of Sandusky's most prominent wine operations in the late 1800s.
The Dorn family arrived in Sandusky in 1866 and built a wine empire right here on Water Street. At its peak, the operation was producing 125,000 gallons of wine a year from 65 acres of vineyards. On this map you can see the wine storage rooms, arched brick ceilings, and press rooms that filled this block. (Pink on Sanborn maps = brick construction, blue = stone, yellow = wood.)
Sandusky was one of the wine capitals of the Midwest — the 1898 city directory listed nineteen wine wholesalers. Then the Volstead Act — the very law our bar is named after — shut it all down in 1920.
After the winery went dark, the building lived a few more lives... including one as the infamous Green Door brothel. Eventually it sat empty until we gutted it and turned it into what you see today.
When you walk through our green door, you're stepping into a building that's been pouring drinks for over 150 years. We just made the cocktails better. 📜🥃
