Continue the series on walking Buffalo, from the intrepid couple who walked every day—no matter the weather—in the early years of Covid. They think (without being systematic) they walked every street in Buffalo, and many in other cities and towns, taking some 25,000 photos, shared in this series. While not itineraries, we hope to encourage others to “walk the walk,” to see, observe and appreciate Buffalo—and beyond. William Graebner and Dianne Bennett are also 5 Cent Cine’s film critics, here.
Today’s Photo-Essay: An Older Couple Walks into an Old Bar…. (Part I)
What’s an “old” bar? We’re flexible. It’s old if it looks old, if the building is old, if the bartender says it’s old, if it’s been remodeled but tastefully, or if it’s a “dive bar,” another flexible category, to which we are partial. You know it when you see it.
Buffalo’s East Side is not particularly well served by old bars, having lost many of its Polish and German drinkers to suburban migration. It seems likely that much of the existing population drinks at home (a version of “bowling alone,” in the title of the Robert Putnam book), or not at all. Still, we’ve found more than a few places to enjoy as we conclude our late-afternoon walks.
We were familiar with Twilight Grill, at Thomas and Howard Streets, having parked many times on Thomas on our treks to the Central Terminal, just to the north. Twilight’s Owl mural is a lovely piece of work. Not long ago we went inside for the first time. No beers on tap, though one can see where they used to be. When we ordered bottles of Pacifico and Amstel Light, we were politely informed that “You know you’re on the East Side.” We settled for Labatt’s. The bar is closing in on 100 years of operation, as the woman behind the bar, one of the owners, told us. The current family bought the place in the 1940s. The kitchen (and other rooms besides the main one) have been closed for some time, the kitchen since her mother died. What remains is colorful and undeniably authentic. Twilight’s customers come mostly from the neighborhood.
From the outside, Smokey’s Tavern (S. Division at Lord Street, on the edge of Larkinville) is unassuming to a fault—so much so that we’ve wondered whether it was still a bar or had been converted to housing, though we had seen and talked to guys hanging around that corner. Yes, it is a bar, and an interesting one at that, with a couple of bucks on the walls (and a sign “Real Hunters Hunt with Bows”) along with notice of the next meeting of Smokey’s Men’s Club. Camouflage clothing stands out. Women as well as men. Most everyone was drinking Labatt’s ($3) or Bud Lite.
One of our favorite walks takes us along the rail line that divides Lovejoy (part of Buffalo) and Sloan (an independent jurisdiction). We usually pass by Nowak’s Tavern, at 1458 Lovejoy Street (in Sloan), and one late afternoon this past February, we made the tavern a destination. Just how old it is we don’t know (despite an internet search), but even after a Covid remodeling it’s clear it’s been around for a while. Pint drafts for $2.50 (they wouldn’t believe that in Los Angeles) and a full menu (our take-out fish dinner was excellent). Polish motifs abound. A “Fu*k Your Team” Bills’ banner is prominent. A woman seated on the adjacent stool said crime in Lovejoy and Sloan was about the same, but that car-break-ins in Sloan were the work of Lovejoy folks. On the other side of us, a guy with a Polish-themed jacket said taxes in Sloan were much higher than in Lovejoy. Two guys left the bar to go outside for a smoke and left money, and their cell phones, on the bar—a sure sign of a neighborhood place with a trusted community clientele.
Another divide—the Cheektowaga/Buffalo border—marks the site of Papa Joe’s Sports Bar and Grill. At 1011 Walden Avenue, the address is Cheektowaga, just steps from the Buffalo city line. Papa Joe’s is a neighborhood fixture, the building housing a bar at least since the 1970s. It’s been in our consciousness since 2020, when we first explored the area. Masked for Covid, we went inside for bottled beers and a burger, which we enjoyed on the covered side deck, the cool October weather notwithstanding. The interior, as we remember it from that first encounter, is dark and intimate.
Almost four years later, talking with two long-time patrons, we learned that in days gone by, the bar hosted pig roasts in a wooded area out back. One of the men lamented that the young people were going to clubs, rather than bars—and rather than Papa Joe’s. There was mention of turning the place into a “store” of some kind—maybe a tire store, one said jokingly, noting that Walden Avenue was over-stocked with stores selling tires, including Lil Moe’s.
The mirror over the bar of the Clinton Lounge, on Clinton Street in Kaisertown, would suggest that the storefront tavern is a newbie, dating to 2018. The date may refer to new ownership, or to a remodel (the curved ceiling with recessed lighting). The wood bar itself has the look of decades past. Having stopped by in mid-afternoon on a March day in 2023, what we found unusual was that the couple next to us at the bar was thoroughly absorbed in a 1970s TV sitcom.
Onto well-stocked North Buffalo. J.P.’s Checkers on the east end of Hertel Avenue has a nice feel, even when we’re the only ones in there: wood floors, the classic curved bar railing for the elbows, backs on the stools, wine in a can (not bad), a tin ceiling, and a mural, commissioned by the owner, featuring the Grand Island Bridge, the Ralph, and a lot of weirder stuff. There’s a certain elegance to the place.
Murray’s Tavern, on Delaware Avenue north of Hertel, doesn’t look old from the street, and it may not be, depending on how you think about it. Murray’s has been at this spot only 10 or 12 years, having moved from Colvin/Hertel (the yellow ceiling tiles, stained with cigarette smoke, are from the prior location). The long narrow building that the tavern now occupies has housed bars since the 1950s, we were told, when Holiday House was pouring the beer. According to the sign above the door, Murray’s has been around since 1978, though Murray has sold the bar and moved to Florida, according to the genial bartender, a woman who goes back a long time with Murray. Besides a prominent leprechaun, the walls have a democratic touch, with several dense collages of regular bar patrons, rather than “celebrities.” In the collage photo, that’s Murray with the green cap.
On the day of our visit, the large rectangular bar, with its soft elbow cushion, was illuminated mostly by late afternoon sunlight. The neighborhood was well represented, primarily by older men who knew each other, chatting about home repairs and Shelly Duvall, screaming star of “The Shining” (1980), who had recently died. $3.75 pints (we had 3), with chips and pretzels. Apologies to Kelly’s Tavern, just up the street, which is on our to-go-to list!
Although some of the bars that once sustained the workers in the city’s grain elevators are now closed, the First Ward retains some inviting taverns. Among them, at the foot of Hamburg Street, is Gene McCarthy’s Old First Ward Brewing Company, with its beguiling patio, warmed by the late-afternoon sun. A favorite of ours, and just a short walk (albeit across some “live” railroad tracks) from some of the city’s most impressive public art, resembling ancient cave paintings (below). A sign above the bar says, “Be Nice or Leave.”
On Louisiana Street at the other end of the ward you’ll find The Buffalo Bar & Grille, where we dropped in for a couple of beers on a chilly evening in early November, having cruised one of our favorite Buffalo neighborhoods. The exterior resembles an ordinary house, but it’s decorated with a window logo (left) that features a fetching lass riding side-saddle on a bull, and the parking lot sports a large sign, “Hollyward.”
Two motorcycles were parked outside. Inside, the walls of the front room were covered with historical photos and memorabilia, of the Rat Pack, the Beatles, and a paean to what it means to be a “Buffalonian.” The men’s room was somewhere under all that history. The bar itself was well-supplied with booze, including Aperol (and not Campari, that we could see), a curious touch of the popular Italian cocktail. An ancient cash register and one of the old photos suggests that the building was a restaurant 125 years ago.
A sign, “You Can Check Out But You Can Never Leave!!,” a somewhat truncated version of the Eagles’ lyric for “Hotel California.” Who would want to leave?
Forthcoming in Part II of An Older Couple Walks into an Old Bar….: Black Rock/Riverside, the West Side, LaSalle (Niagara Falls), Old Town, Woodlawn, Grand Island, and North Tonawanda.
Click here to see more “walks and thoughts” by © William Graebner.