Earle Hotel, undated, across the street from the Cracked Crab.Sources
- The Earle remembers Rick Burgess, Current, 30 April 2009
Shortly after opening the Del Rio, Rick envisioned a music venue of a different sort. In 1973, Rick and Ernie Harburg purchased the old Earle Hotel, former home to a car dealership and garage, and began the task of transforming it into a “bar with live specialty music,” according to an October 5, 1973 Ann Arbor News article. Four arduous years later, the Earle opened, serving soups, sandwiches, and a menu of jazz heavy hitters, including Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Larry Coryell, Sonny Stitt, Elvin Jones, Woody Shaw, and Betty Carter. The performers and customers sat elbow to elbow in the Earle’s cozy basement venue.
Ann Arbor Observer, August 1976
