So this was a total bummer. I just found out that my favorite "dive" bar in the city just burnt to the ground :(
The Old Pink Flamingo
So the owner of the original Pink Flamingo sold the place and opened a larger club on Main St. The new owner kept everything exactly as it was and from then on it remained nameless or known to the locals as "The Old Pink". Best God Damn dive bar in the city. YOU WILL BE MISSED OLD FRIEND.
I swore I had several pictures of this place both online and in my camera. I know I've posted about this place on here before. For the life of me, I couldn't find the photos I wanted. This Instagram screengrab made me laugh though. Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/theoldpinkofficial/?hl=en
That title says it all and is really the truth for me. This was the first bar I snuck into as a 16-year-old kid. This is where I met some of my dearest friends that I still have so many fond memories of. This was practically my home in the early 90s. It was like a punk rock version of the TV show "Cheers" for me.
On any given afternoon you could find me in here sipping a pint of Guinness (one of the few places in the city where you could get a proper pint) and chowing down on one of their awesome fire-grilled steak sandwiches. Whenever I was bored in the 90s, this was the meet-up spot. Hang out long enough and someone you knew would walk in and be ready to party. These were epic times. The bar was frequented by local celebrities and us common folk alike. In the nineties, it wasn't unusual to rub elbows with rock stars like Annie DiFranco or the guys from The Goo Goo Dolls. It was just a fun place to be. Man, it will be missed. These were such crazy times in my life.
On more than a few occasions my friend Herb and I would run the pool table from happy hour to close. Playing for drinks mostly, we were unstoppable when the two of us teamed up. We rarely paid for drinks. 🤣 For several years, my picture even hung behind the bar, working security for GWAR, covered in blood with another bouncer (theatrical blood from the concert). Google GWAR if you don't know.
This Morning at 4:30 AM It Burnt to the Ground
It came on the afternoon news. Shortly after closing time 4:30 AM the bar started on fire. This is all that's left.
Throughout the day, people gathered in front of the old building and paid their respects. I swear to the gods, I actually had to hold back a tear. The fire was so bad, they immediately raised the building. They had to cover up the debris because regulars kept trying to climb into the pile looking for old bar stools as a remembrance 🤣
This place had been a staple and a thorn in the side of the community since the nineteen seventies. Generations of club goers and bar hoppers have frequented this place. Artsy, punk rock, crazy, alternative, anything goes, all would be proper descriptors.
The saddest part of this was, I drove by about a week ago and thought about stopping in for a pint. Now I really wish I had. It had been several years since I stopped in for a drink. A new generation, all my old friends either dead, moved away, or grown up. Seemed kind of pointless
Now I really wish I would have stopped. IDK, just felt like it deserved an entry into my Hive blog for posterity. This place really deserves to be remembered. Generations of party people have come and gone through those doors. So many memories, and now another icon turned to ash with only it's memories to survive.
I've heard, covid really destroyed the bar business in this neighborhood. I'll be surprised if they rebuild. One can always hope though.