Originally published in D-Tales here.
$1.5 million dollars in tax evasion later, and the Plaka Cafe is still open. Now, who knows how long this will last--the owners could go the route of La Shish and flee the country with a few mil. (Actually, they can't--they've already been arraigned and are currently out on bail--and I GAR-RON-TEE you they can't leave the country, much less the state.) When the feds raided the place in December of 2006, they found more than $700,000 in cash stashed away inside the restaurant. Further investigation yielded a decade's worth of unfiled taxes. If owners Thomas Karadimas and Constantinos Karadimas are found guilty of all pending charges, this will turn out to be the largest case of tax evasion in Michigan's history (take THAT, La Shish!).
Late-night drunken diners, fear not: Plaka Cafe remains open at this time, though one can always speculate if it will remain so if both owners end up in the clink. After an evening of heavy boozing, one can still hit up this 24-hour coney island for some of the best worst food in Detroit.
No, really, the food here is actually quite nasty, but since it is really one of the only late-night options in the city, they maintain a very steady client base of hungry drunks.
(WHY you wouldn't just hit up White Castle is beyond me. There's one on Michigan Ave., not too far west of downtown proper. If you're in Midtown, there's McDonald's. And don't give me that "I don't want to drive anywhere" crap--how the hell else are you getting home to the 'burbs?)
From the rumor mill: apparently Plaka, much like many of the other spots in Greektown, has rumored Greek mob ties...I know, I know, I've been flinging around a lot of mob accusations lately, but apparently if there's one thing that our culturally diverse metropolitan area is good at, it's crime syndicates and terrorist affiliations. I can't make this shit up, people. No wonder our local FBI branch needs a new building...
Also from the rumor mill: apparently there was a Blind Pig upstairs? As in, drinking in a public place illegally after hours and witnessing all sorts of illegal dealings in the form of gambling, drugs, and perhaps even prositution? I wanna see; I wanna see!!!!
