A Bar in Toledo

The Untold Story of a Mafia Front Man and a Grammy-Winning Song

De: Dominic Vaiana, Stephanie Abbajay

Narrado por: Stephanie Abbajay

When Duane Abbajay took over his brother’s bankrupt nightclub in Toledo, Ohio in 1962, he promised his wife it would be a quick turnaround to bail his brother out and clear the family name. Instead, he became the face of a bar that transformed the city’s entertainment scene and inspired a Grammy-winning country song—all under the thumb of a trigger-happy mafia boss.

Informed by interviews with crime historians, employees, and patrons and corroborated by FBI and police reports, Dominic Vaiana and Stephanie Abbajay have crafted a Rust Belt psychodrama that offers a unique perspective into the worlds of organized crime and the music business, which were closely entwined.

Duane Abbajay, the 10th child of Syrian immigrants, went from having a Norman Rockwell-like all-American family life to owning and operating the most successful nightclub outside of Detroit and Chicago, all with the help of the mob, a secret he kept from his family.

A Bar in Toledo is a story of rock and roll, the Rust Belt, and redemption. It’s a story of the American Dream and the cost of success. Of a man who wanted it all, got it all, and the high price he paid to keep it.

Emotional, theatrical, and dripping with nostalgia, A Bar in Toledo is a love letter to the golden age of American music—and the dark underworld that helped make it all possible.

©2022 The University of Toledo Press (P)2023 Stephanie Abbajay and Dominic Vaiana

Great story!

Well written and read. Love the nuggets of Toledo history. Glad I gave it a listen, will recommend to other local history nerds.

Amazing and riveting!

What are an amazing story! And the reading, which was by the author, was fantastic and riveting! I could not stop listening! A great immigrant, American Midwestern success story!