#5739 - Karwoski's Tavern, Pittsburgh, PA - 4/23/2024

Karwoski's Tavern, AKA JCK Tavern
Pittsburgh, PA 

"If you want to sit in an extremely dark bar and feel like your worthless, this is the place to go." - James K, Yelp

Karoski's Tavern, AKA JCK Tavern, is a classic neighborhood dive, a bit off the main drag, in the South Side Flats area of Pittsburgh. When I arrived, well before the posted closing time, the bartender was a bit irked, informing me that he'd turned off the lights and was in the process of closing. I managed to convince him to let me in for one quick beer.  

There has been a licensed bar in this location for at least 150 years, since at least 1884, and it was run by the Karwoski family from when Joseph Karwoski purchased it and took over the liquor license in September 1922, to at least 2017 and I presume to this day.

And before you object that there were no licensed bars in America in 1922, there absolutely were in the state of Pennsylvania, which kept issuing licenses, with most saloons, breweries and distilleries continuing to operate until about 1926 (at which point PA shifted to an underground, speakeasy system, like the rest of the country experienced from 1920 or earlier).

It's smokey and happily dark, even when they're not in the process of closing, and they don't f around with karaoke, or bands, or other promotions. I will be back.

132 S 24th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 - (412) 431-3021
Est. 1922  
Previous bars in this location: Bar names unknown, but from 1884 to 1922 saloons here were run by Victor Doser, John N. Johnson, Harry Hartman, John Suttner, and Edwin Hirt
Web site: facebook - instagram 
Reviews: fatherpitt - yelp 

#6087 - Red Star Inn, Cumberland Township (Fairdale), PA - 2/26/2025

Serb Krewasky, Red Star Inn, Fairdale, PA

Miljo “Serb” Krewasky opened his bar here on Labor Day 1965 -- almost 60 years before I first set foot in it on this day, with him still working the bar. Serb says it had been the Red Star Inn since 1938. In this case, the nickname is accurate, as Miljo ("My-low") is indeed Serbian, and has hosted a Serbian Christmas celebration each Dec 7 for decades. He told me he served in the Army infantry 1961 to '63, and when he heard them call him "Miljo" instead of "Serb," he knew he was in trouble.

There's a framed, yellowed newspaper hanging over the paint peeling from the wall, with a blaring headline: "Cumberland Twp. Plays Wilmerding for Title." "That's older than you are," says Serb, and I thought he was probably wrong, but as it was about the 1952 squads, he was correct. The local Carmichaels boys (Cumberland Township), including freshman Miljo Krewasky, made it all the way to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) B Division Championship that year, having whipped Zelienople 40-14 for their 10th straight win. The "Mighty Mikes" would go on to nip Wilmerding 12-6 to take the title.

Serb was started out as a quarterback and later played linebacker. He is 86 now, but he's not ready to give up the bar. When he does, he says it will be to family only. His hand shakes now as he pours me a shot of Jameson. It was a beer and shot bar when it was full of coal miners, and it's a beer and shot joint today. There's still a framed photo of FDR on the back bar. 

I went from doubting this place was still open to adding it to my list of favorite dive bars in western Pennsylvania. It was an old geezer in an old bar up the road that told me about the place -- "It's even older than this one," he told me. If you're not immediately endeared to a small town working class bar that features a 70-year-old news clip about the local high school team, and with an 86-year-old alumnus pouring you a shot, well, we just have very different tastes.

334 S Vine St, Carmichaels, PA 15320 - (724) 966-9937
Est. 1938 
Articles: greenscenemagazine  

#6088 - Pancake Inn, South Strabane (Pancake), PA - 2/26/2025

Dave Crompton, Pancake Inn, South Strabane, PA

Dave Crompton, AKA "Clem Riley," dressed in a bathrobe and shorts, sat at the bar of in the joint his father bought in in 1964, when Dave was 18. Dave's worked in it ever since, along with his other profession as a bricklayer. It's been the "Pancake Inn" since sometime before that -- I found several liquor license suspensions of former owner Charles Johnson in 1963 and '64, which perhaps contributed to his motivation to sell the place?

You can't get pancakes at the Pancake Inn, nor at any other business in the Pancake, the unincorporated community established in 1822 by settler George Pancake. Before it was a bar, the Pancake Inn building served at least into the 1920s as a one-room schoolhouse, hard by the famous "National Road," originally comprised of the Native Americans' Nemacolin's Trail and Mingo Path, which was later traversed by George Washington himself on his way to erect Fort Necessity during the French and Indian War.

From aged Insulbrick interior it doesn't look like a place where you could take for granted that non-locals were welcomed, but they definitely are by Dave. He tells Dan the bartender that my first drink is on the house, and tries to do the same with my second. He enjoys chatting, generally responding with a satisfied, "Cool beans!"

The decor is just what you'd want in a classic dive -- artifacts that have plainly been collected over many years from many sources, including "Dusty," the mounted deer head, much in winsome disrepair, shabby but perfectly functional.

It's the sort of joint that I will make a point of visiting when I am in the area.

1726 E Maiden St, Washington, PA 15301 - (724) 229-0648
Est. 1963 or earlier 
Previous bars in this location: None known 
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: triblive - untappd 

#6054 - Lou's Little Corner Bar, Pittsburgh, PA - 1/25/2025

Lou's Little Corner Bar, Pittsburgh, PA 

I don't know how long there has been a bar in this location, but it has been at least since the 1930s and there are hints it may go back to the 1890s.

Louis Lardo established Lou's in 1985. It was O'Neil's Bar in the 1960s, Sutony's Bar in the late 40s and the 50s, and the Anchor Inn from at least 1937 into the early 1940s.

In November of 1991, Lardo was charged with two accounts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, after he tracked down to black 15-year-olds who stole his car from in front of the bar, and shot them as they fled from him.

Lou's Little Corner Bar, Pittsburgh, PA 

The building attached to the bar has offered rooms to let for well over a hundred years.

4924 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224 - (412) 682-9723
Est. March 18, 1985
Previous bars in this location: Anchor Inn, Sutony's Bar, O'Neil's Bar
Web site: facebook - instagram  
Reviews: thegreatpittsburghpubcrawl - yelp - reddit 

#5357 - Rod-n-Gun Saloon, Stanley, ID - 8/27/23

Rod-n-Gun Saloon, Stanley, Idaho

I do not have any primary sources on the Rod N Gun bar, in a small valley at the base of the Sawtooth range, in Stanley, Idaho. Its Facebook page says "Since 1931, Stanley's ORIGINAL Honky-Tonk Saloon" -- but of course it wouldn't have been a saloon in that year (although possibly a speakeasy). Other sources say 1936, and it is said to have burned down twice, with the current building dating back to the 1950s. But in any case there is no arguing that the place has a long and colorful history, and while one must rely on hearsay and questionable oral history regarding the first few decades, the stories become much more clear from 1971, when Mary Alice Kirch purchased the bar and cafe, and whose family managed it all the way to January 2024.

According to Wikipedia, the town of Stanley "was not considered a town until 1919 when its streets and lots were surveyed and recorded." Fur trappers and prospectors traveled through this valley as early as the 1820s, but finding it rich in neither gold nor beaver, the population has oscillated between a scattered handful and just over 100 people ever since. The Rod and Gun (it seems to have been nameds that for the entire time) appears to have been established somewhere between 12 and 17 years later, on what is now "Ace of Diamonds" Street, where each winter locals race down the road in outhouses, while chugging beers from the bar.

Some of its history was elaborated in Facebook by Johnny Ray Kirch, also known as "Idaho's Singing Bartender," who took over managing the place purchased by his mother, and first run by his brother, musician Casanova Jack:

'Casanova Jack ran the Rod and Gun Club from 1971 until his untimely passing in 1990, then being run by my wife Eve and I ever since. The oldest Bar in the Valley, being built by Mr. David Bell in 1931. He lost it in a cribbage game a few years later, then went down the street and built another bar, before moving to Clayton, Idaho and building the first bar there. Jack's and my Mother Mary Alice Kirch purchased the Rod and Gun Club and Cafe from Glen and Nel Brewer May 19th, 1971. She ran the cafe, and if I may say, "The Best cook in the Valley at the time". and Jack ran the bar, and entertained here 7 nights a week. I had the privilege and honor of entertaining with Jack for many of those years. We also wrote many songs about the area and the famous river guides in the 70's, which are featured on his Album that was recorded at Faron Young Studios in Nashville, TN. The Rod and Gun Club and cafe has been in our family since May, 1971 to today. The name was modified by my beautiful wife Eve Kirch and myself from "Casanova Jacks Rod and Gun" Club, to the Rod-N-Gun Whitewater Saloon, as it has been a favorite by ALL River guides since 1971, including the World Famous Eldon Handy, Ron Gillette, and their crews. Casanova Jack was a Nashville Entertainer, having played there for many years from the mid 50s through the 60's. During that time he toured with entertainers from Lefty Frizzell, Faron Young, Marty Robbins, and many others. Bz Waite and her family have been very good friends and a valued part of Stanley for Many Many Years. The stage of the Stars has been graced by Many World Renowned Entertainers including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jim Nabors, Burt Reynolds, Reckless Kelly, Micky and the Motorcars, Cody Canada and the Departed, Free Peoples, to name only a few. Being the oldest and longest business in the Stanley Area owned and run by a single family, I am very proud to be a small part of it and our Beautiful City.'

Realtor Erich Hamm further elaborated (also in Facebook) in January 2024, when the bar had just recently changed hands from the Kirch family:

'Congrats to Tripp Costas for purchasing the Rod-N-Gun Saloon in Stanley and to Johnny Ray Kirch and Eve Kirch for selling. 

During the winter of 1995, when I was 20 years old, I waited tables for Johnny Ray and Eve on the cafe side of the Rod-N-Gun. We became lifelong friends. That summer I turned 21 at the Rod-N-Gun. It was June 5th, and it was snowing.

The Rod-N-Gun is a Stanley institution. The original owner built it in 1931 and then gambled it away in a cribbage game. It has burned down twice (once due to an exploding propane tank). The current building was built in the mid-fifties. Johnny Ray's mom bought it in 1971. Johnny Ray's brother, Casanova Jack, ran it until his death in 1990, when Johnny and Eve took over. Casanova Jack was a Nashville recording artist who toured with many entertainers, including Marty Robbins. 

Tripp has been in and out of Stanley for the last decade. He hails from Nashville and has a hospitality background. He's a bush pilot, a mountain man, and an all-around great guy. Tripp, Johnny Ray, Eve, and I have been working on this deal for the past four years, and it has finally come to fruition.

The Rod-N-Gun holds a special place in many people's hearts. I'm excited to witness its next chapter with Tripp at the helm.

Please forgive me if any of these dates and details are less than accurate. As with much of Stanley history, it came to me via word of mouth. As we used to say to our guests on the river: "You're going to hear a lot of stories out here, and some of them are true..."'

The large saloon was quite sedate on the lazy Monday afternoon when I visited with a few family members. We played pool and shuffleboard, took in the various photographs and knick-knacks, and of course had a drink. While the bar itself was quiet, you didn't need to read any of the stories of "not uncommon brawls," and women spinning off the dance floor and across tables to sense that this has been a very different bar ("a wild ass time") on many a Stanley night. With luck, maybe someday I'll be able to make it back here when it is hopping -- perhaps even when the outhouses are sliding down the street.

44 Ace of Diamonds St, Stanley, ID 83278 - 774-2922
Est. 1931 or 1936 current location; 1950s current structure 
Web sites: facebook - instagram 
Articles: thebeerchaser 

#4901 - The Old Pink, Buffalo, NY - 11/15/2022

The Old Pink, Buffalo, NY 

On June 17, 2024, fire destroyed the bar in Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood known as "The Old Pink." The joint was a cherished local institution, famous for its steak sandwich, often cited in lists of the top dive bars in the country, and among seven dive bars in the country cited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as worthy of preserving. The building was a total loss, with an emergency demolition ordered, even as saddened Buffalo residents rushed to claim bricks or other fragments.

The building hosting the bar was constructed in the 1860s, and appears to have first hosted a bar in 1942 when Jimmie Oates Grill opened. Over the following years it had several different bar incarnations, including the Allentown Cafe and Birdie's 19th hole in the 70s, the Buffalo Bar and Grill in 1980, the Lockeroom in '81, and then in 1983 under new owner Mark Supples, the Pink Flamingo.

The Old Pink, Buffalo, NY

The "Forgotten Buffalo" Facebook group published a 2018 quote from Supples explaining: “I wanted people to think it was a gay bar so the knuckleheads from Brick Bar wouldn’t come in." The group posts continues: 'Other early clientele included bikers, punk rockers, policemen, judges, neighborhood people, retirees, and drug dealers. On the first day the bar opened, it didn’t look much different than the bar does today, Supples says. “Except it was painted much cooler in the front, and the bathrooms were considerably cleaner.”' In 1991 Supples sold the business to the Brinkworth family, and opened up a newer, larger "New Pinks" on Main Street. It was then that locals got in the habit of referring to "the Old Pink."

When I visited the bar in November of 2022, it was, as it had been for many years, a happily dark and buzzing place. I didn't know about the steak sandwiches at the time, so unfortunately I never sample these. But it was a comfortable, divey, hangout, in a neighborhood that has several nice -- if a bit less venerated -- bars. The exterior had been retouched earlier in the year, removing much of the stars and flames from the front portion of the building to satisfy a city of Buffalo "graffiti" ordinance. The actual graffiti was inside the bar, amidst the paintings on the walls, and the years of stickers and genial weathering that marks the best dives.

It was a sad day for dive bar lovers, but I am happy I got to see it before it was gone.

Jimmie Oates Pub, Buffalo, NY
For this and other images of bars in 
the Old Pink space, see the
Forgotten Buffalo Facebook group.

223 Allen St, Buffalo, NY 14201 - (716) 884-4338
Est. 1983 - Building constructed: 1860s
Previous bars in this location: Jimmie Oates' Pub, Birdie's 19th Hole, Allentown Cafe, The Lockeroom, Buffalo Bar and Grill, The Blackstone
Web site: facebook - facebook - instagram 
Reviews: scoundrelsfieldguide - reddit - yelp - tripadvisor - 

Fire: dailymail - wkbw - wkbw - spectrumlocalnews - wny - wgrz - buffalorising - wivb - wyrk - firehouse.com 

#5579 - The Adams Hotel, Greenville, PA - 2/21/2024

Adams Hotel Bar
Greenville, PA 

The Adams Hotel Bar has been sitting just off the Shenango River since current owner Richie Williams' father bought it in 1951. Richie bought it when his dad retired at 88 years-old. It's a comfortable old neighborhood dive here in Greenville, some 80 miles north of Pittsburgh and 80 miles east of Cleveland, and home to the Werner Company, the world's largest manufacturer of step and extension ladders.

Unlike most bartenders in similar joints, Richie wears a tie every day, hanging from below his white beard, lending him a sort of professorial look.

The sign out front is a bit confusing, giving no reference to a bar, and containing the tag line "Where Your Family." I forgot to ask exactly what was meant by this (Where you're family? We're your family?).

Out back there's a small patio overlooking the river, and to the left of that is a much larger porch that Richie is going to add to the current bar, along with the building beside it.

I had just eaten a chili dog at the Majestic Bar and Grille -- which is said to have been famous for them since it was established in 1920. But both Richie and patrons like Chris assured me that the Adams now has the superior chili dogs, so a return visit is absolutely necessary so that I might judge for myself.

106 Main St, Greenville, PA 16125 - (724) 885-1111
Est. 1951 
Previous bars in this location: None known 
Web site: None
Reviews: yelp 

#5453 - Pastime Inn Lounge, Uniontown, PA - 10/18/23

Pastime Inn Lounge, Uniontown, PA

The Pastime Inn Lounge in Uniontown, PA is old school, and it doesn't make much effort to reach non-locals. There's no web site, no real Facebook site, and even finding a listing that includes the full address takes a little doing. Patricia "Pastime Patty" Franko has been working the place since 1980, ten years after her dad Richard Franko bought the place. Richard passed in 2008.

I have a soft spot for "Pastime" bars, as, this has been the single most popular name for bars in American history -- or at least in the northwestern states. So far I've identified 68 "Pastimes" in Washington state, along with 112 in other states. But relatively few remain now, and I make an extra effort to visit when I find one.

Patty chatted with me a bit about the history of the place, and showed me a photograph of the grocery store that proceeded it in this location near a corner of the city established by the Quaker Henry Beeson in 1776. The city lies less than fifteen miles from the West Virginia border, and ten miles northwest of Fort Necessity, built by George Washington during the French and Indian War and the site of the Battle of Jumonville Glen, where the North American branch of the war began. 140 years later the war here was between the local miners and mine owners, with the owners bringing in "fifteen guards armed with carbines and machine guns [to hold] off an attack by 1,500 strikers, killing five and wounding eight." (wikipedia)

Patty doesn't like photos taken of her, but she seems well known to people in the area. A couple bartenders at my other stops on the road trip told me to tell her hello. It's a nice place for people who appreciate an old, unassuming joint with some nice vintage beer decor. As I left I noted my hope that no one ever changes the name.

154 W Berkeley St, Uniontown, PA
Est. 1970

#5284 - Safari Club, Duquesne, PA - 7/17/23

The Safari Club, Duquesne, PA

The city of Duquesne, hugging the south side of the Monongahela River just southeast of Pittsburgh, is an archetypal declining old steel town. From it's heyday in the 30s and 40s, when Carnegie Steel operated "Dorothy Six," the largest blast furnace in the world, and employed more residents than they entire city population today, the population has been declining ever since, leaving crumbling buildings and pothole filled roads. The health of the community faded along with the infrastructure, with over a third of the residents below the poverty line, the worst performing schools in the state, one of the highest crime rates in America, and inclusion on the Financially Distressed Municipality list.  (wikipedia, neighborhoodscout) 

The Safari Club, Duquesne, PA

Thus the bars here tend to be few and far between, inconsistent in their operation, and with very spotty data on the internet and social media -- e.g. on the day I visited a bar here it was listed in Yelp as permanently Closed -- although the facebook site is updated regularly. But the bars that survive can carve out intimate and pleasant spaces, amidst the crumbling surroundings, and this is the case with the Safari Club, on the ground floor of a 3 to 4 story old building, with broken windows, faded plywood over upper doors, and the brick walls in back appearing to crumble. But inside the Safari is a cozy neighborhood dive bar space.

True to it's name, the Safari contains a good number of African artifacts and jungle-themed decor. But like many true dives, the theme varies widely. Above the bar are three taxidermy buck heads, two quite professionally done surrounding one that appears older and executed by someone just starting to learn the craft. Opposite the pool table is a selection of photos of old school jazz and rock stars. The bartender and manager Quanda tells me her uncle owns the bar and the taxidermy, and she guessed it had been here for about 23 years, with no idea what was here before it. The efforts to maintain a friendly, safe environment are more evident than usual, including a large fluorescent green 86 list and requirement that you must be at least 30 years-old to enter.

Altogether it creates a welcoming getaway from the heat and humidity, as well as the other struggles outside. The drinks are typical dive bar spirits and canned beers, and the food fairly standard pub fare (wings, burgers, fish sandwiches, etc.). Events include Bar Bingo nights, karaoke, and the occasional live band. It's the sort of unique neighborhood joint that I might put on my highest favorites list -- perhaps after checking out what it's like on a Friday or Saturday night.

708 Grant Ave, Duquesne, PA 15110 - 

facebook  

#5277 - K and M Pub, Pittsburgh, PA - 7/14/23

K&M Pub, Pittsburgh, PA

The K&M Pub is a classic old neighborhood joint where the bartenders know every customer. Once inside I was very pleasantly surprised to find an original pressed tin ceiling and antique back bar. County tax records only fill in the story from 1963, when Gerald and Anita Garner bought the place, but it's plainly much older than that. The Garners appear to have sold it to the current owners in 1999, but the old "Garner's Tavern" ghost sign is still more prominent than the tiny "K&M" at the front door. 

Mike the bartender says it goes back "about a hundred years," and it appears to have been built in 1924, so he was pretty much on the money (though of course it could not have been a licensed bar until 1933 at the earliest). Still a lot of research to do on this area.

   

200 Mt Oliver St, Pittsburgh, PA 15210 - (412) 488-6241
Est. 1999? - Building constructed: 1924

Previous bars in this location: Garner's Tavern
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: yelp