I've never recovered from the P&G closing. That was my favorite pre/post game spot. Spotted Derek in there with Mike Mattison after a week day show. The best was Cornell Dupree hanging out after his sit in in 06. The guy was as cool as it gets.
I was never that into Yogi's AKA bear bar but it was a very popular meet up spot when it was in business. O'hurley's took up the slack for a bit but that closed also. If Dublin House is still open, that's where I'll be if I can get a ticket for this run !

Thanks... Yeah, when you start listing all the places that are gone it gets kind of depressing.

Hey Al,

One of my favorite things to do was go to Blondies for wings and beer. I would often see some Allman fans.

The combination of March Madness, wings and beer, followed by the ABB at the Beacon was a Saturday afternoon delight.

I'm sure you will get many references to the Amsterdam Ale House and rightfully so. Many fans made that a stop and the owner is a full-on ABB fan. You would see some of the extended ABB family in there as well.

It's a shame that the March tradition has to go. I would love to see the TTB, Gov't Mule and other extended family bands take over the Beacon in March and keep the vibe alive.

Freddie and Peppers Pizza - right behind the theater for a slice before the show.

Gray's Papaya (Amsterdam Ave, I think).

Some seedy bar where Donna, Lefty, Leeann, Sari and I hooked up with Coojo and Chuck. Forget the name - remember the place!

P and G classic haunt..yogis was lets says Yogis......a bit crowded but part of the "charm"............but funny all places mentioned gone..........Hell cant forget Nick's...........but that was usually post show .. munchies and all.........but if you caught a pre party from the "sweeties" at the Beacon, well say no more.......

The P&G and Yogi's (Bear Bar) were big loses to the ABB Beacon experience. As was the closing of the Big Nick's which was a great late night burger place to hit.

Wonwayout Gary has hosted a nearly 20 year fan party at the Gin Mill every march. Gin Mill has meant a lot to fans around here (and the ABB listserv).

EDIT - I wrote Blondi's but I mean Yogi's (when referring to old haunts no longer open in the 'hood). The P&G had been open every single day including 9/11 and 9/12 dating back to World War II or something like that. The outside even got a screen shot cameo on Seinfeld. Saw Derek walk in there with a handful of guys after a show one time....and folks gave him his space.

I can't explain how good of a time I had at these places plus the Hotel Beacon starting in 1999 for me.

[Edited on 10/14/2014 by hotlantatim]

Al, not sure if you'll be commenting on the Beacon itself at all, but if you do I'd like to offer an observation a girlfriend of mine made when I took her to her first Beacon show in 1997. She said it's the only place she had ever seen where there was a 10 minute line to the men's room and the ladies room was empty.

Blondies - Love the multiple basketball games and then going to a Beacon show. Always great.

Irish Dive Bar - If you are standing at the entrance of Blondies and look across the street to the left, right before Broadway there is a GREAT Irish dive bar. I don't know the name of it. Went in there one night during a non-Beacon stretch this past summer and there were wooden walls, a stereotypical crusty old Irish bar tender there and a couple of died-in-the-wool NYC Irish regulars at the end of the bar. Shockingly, the juke box is STOCKED with Grateful Dead live discs, Allman Brothers and other classics. STOCKED with them! It very much reminds me of the Bear Bar vibe back in the '90s albeit in a smaller venue. Wish I could pre-game there because it is the best I have seen since the Bear Bar.

The Gin Mill - Is this place still around? In 1998 I remember HTW had a great party there with food and drinks. I think they did a few of these here. I remember coming in feeling extremely lousy from the prior night just for the party. Lana was nice enough to give me a backstage pass for a band meet & greet after the show so I sucked it up and hit the show that night. One of the best physical feats I have ever accomplished.

Places that were:

There was a place just South of the Beacon one street over to the East that I believe said "BAR" on the outside, not sure. I remember it being a bar that had a diner atmosphere to it if that makes sense. They used to have hundreds of the triangular Allman Brothers Beacon backstage passes pasted all over the walls.

The Bear Bar vs. Yogis - I thought there was a significant difference between Bear Bar and what it later became under the name Yogi's. The Bear Bar had a great juke box - First Set, Second Set, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and lots of others. It seems like I spent hours in there and there was always great music on with almost no repeats. Smoking policies were liberal in the bathroom. The bar tender actually had a beer funnel he would let and others use. Bar maids would frequently dance on the bar. Kind of a hazy memory now, but I believe the drill was that every so often they would put on the Blue Sky from First Set and everyone would in the bar would do a shot. Everyone. And the place was always packed. Someone help me out, but I think some of the band members actually played the Bear Bar after a show one night.
When it because Yogis, the juke box went way downhill. The beer specials and shots-for-everybody traditions evaporated and the place got less and less crowded as I remember it. The thing that really irked me though was the only album they seemed to have in there the last time I went was First Set and they played Blue Sky ALL THE TIME. Every three songs of so. The barmaids would all try to dance and liven everyone up but there were no shots, dancing on bars or beer funnels and it got REALLY annoying hearing it six, seven times an hour and have the bar staff crank up their act each time.

Have always been partial to pre-show at the Dublin House on 79th (axeman is talikng about this place as the Irish Dive Bar). I was a big fan of The Bear Bar (Yogi's) but it was usually too crowded before shows - same with the Amsterdam Alehouse (former Westside Brewing Co).

[Edited on 10/14/2014 by mikesolo]

Yogi's and the Westside were the two places my tour guides led us into in 06.

Mikesolo check your PM's.

Good stuff. My crew and I have been hanging preshow at the dublin House for years.. it's too far away to be a real pregame spot, but we love it for all the reasons listed.

also, many nights doing the beer-wings-March Madness hoops agt Blondies thing.

Good stuff. My crew and I have been hanging preshow at the dublin House for years.. it's too far away to be a real pregame spot, but we love it for all the reasons listed.

also, many nights doing the beer-wings-March Madness hoops agt Blondies thing.

Since Dublin House does not serve food, they let us bring in Blondie's wings... the best of both worlds.

Like Rich said, Big Nick's was a great spot to get any kind of food under the sun, pre or post show. Such a pity that it's gone.

I also agree on Freddy & Peppers for great post show pizza.

The Chirping Chicken is a great place to get an inexpensive and relatively healthy pre-show meal.

Mcleers pub on amsterdam and 79th or 80th is also great cheap beer and burgers and Nebish loves the wings!!!

just walk north on Amsterdam avenue and almost every place works. Blondies is great but is a true sports bar and if there are any other sporting events on, tough to get in unless you arrive by 5 and many tables are reserved on those nights.

@ABSNJ - chirping chicken is the first place in this htread I do not know... the hummus place over by the pizza place also a good spot for tasty, quick, cheap dinner...

The last few years my crew has been going to Fred's on 83 and Amsterdam. Decent burger and beer spot away from the maddening crowds.

I always go to the Dublin House and have take out from Blondies delivered there. Its a great old school Irish bar. They have tables in the back and have no problem with people eating there. They also have many takeout menus behind the bar for other food places in the area.

Good call ont he food at dublin House. I usually eat a Maeson's and wash it down with a beer there.

@ABSNJ - chirping chicken is the first place in this htread I do not know... the hummus place over by the pizza place also a good spot for tasty, quick, cheap dinner...

It used to be about a block closer to the Beacon on the opposite side of the street. I always passed by and saw rows of chickens being rotisseried in the window. Finally tried the place not long after they moved across the street. It's still fast food, but a cut above Gray's Papaya.

I was quite the regular at Yogis 😉
Big Nicks and Westside Brewery for grub.

Now you can find me at Malachys @ 74th and Columbus. They are starting to remember me there now 😮

I was quite the regular at Yogis 😉
Big Nicks and Westside Brewery for grub.

Now you can find me at Malachys @ 74th and Columbus. They are starting to remember me there now 😮

Legend ...