Rumors are flying that the Buck, a beloved bastion of burger, will soon be a FUCKING MARTINI BAR. So I had to stop by for beers and cheeseburgers to soak it all in - hopefully not for the last time. My goal was to take a picture in my mind good enough to communicate it here so future generations could appreciate "the sights, the sounds and oh yes, the smells" of the Silver Dollar. (thanks Marti DeBergi).
So what if the dish rag hangs into the garbage can and so what if the waitress puts her fingers in your beer glass…the Silver Dollar has been around for fifty years!
On this cold April afternoon, the Usual Suspects were bellied up to the bar:
Janice Joplin and Jim Morrison
The biggest Notre Dame fan around, glasses, black Nike’s with a fancy silver something on the back – The guy stared stone faced at the Lottery TV the entire time we were there. No drink, no burger, no blinking…
The stereotypical self-employed house painter
A couple Bubba’s with their chicks in a booth far enough away I couldn’t hear them talk to each other or their incessantly ringing cell phones.
The Sad Clown was. I think I can get E.T. off the wall and out the door without getting caught. The dripping oil light with the dead flies though is long gone as is the jukebox with anything resembling music.
The beer was cold.
The burgers weren’t amazing but I guess I was hoping for the best two cheeseburgers ever just to say it had a Ray Bourque-esque ending. I hope all their martinis smell like burgers. And not in a good way.
From the April 11th, 2007 Herald-Palladium: "Downtown SJ fixture will be shaken, stirred
Silver Dollar’s shot-and-a-beer rep likely to give way to martini bar and restaurant
By MICHAEL ELIASOHN and SARAH McEvilly
H-P Staff Writers
ST. JOSEPH — The Silver Dollar Cafe, which has been in downtown St. Joseph for 74 years, will undergo a big change if its intended sale goes through. Jay and Amy Patel, who have owned the bar and restaurant at 412 State St. since 1995, are selling the business to Bill Kowske of St. Joseph and John Havenaar of Stevensville.
However, the sale is contingent on transfer of the liquor license, which cleared its first step Monday night with approval of the transfer by the St. Joseph City Commission.
Patel said Tuesday it probably will take 1 1 ⁄ 2 to two months for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to act on the transfer. If approved, the sale will then take place.
Kowske said he and Havenaar plan to convert the Silver Dollar to a wine and martini bar, plus food. They said at the City Commission meeting they plan to offer appetizers, soup, salads and sandwiches.
“We’re still working on the menu and what we’re going to offer,” Kowske said Tuesday. They haven’t decided yet whether they also will serve beer. They also are planning to add a second floor deck on the alley side of the restaurant, facing Lake Michigan. The Silver Dollar will get a new name, Kowske said, and be smoke-free. He said he and Havenaar thought about keeping the Silver Dollar as-is, that is, a traditional bar with smoking allowed, but decided to make the change. “We obviously want to offer something to the community that is not already here.” As for banning smoking, he said, “There’s another side of this, (non-smoking) people enjoying a nice atmosphere, too.” The liquor license includes a dance permit, which will allow the new owners to have live entertainment. “We want the option,” Kowske said Tuesday, adding that any entertainment likely will not include dancing. Kowske said he and Havenaaar are buying the business, while they and some other investors are buying the building, also owned by the Patels. The Patels also own Mickey’s Pub at 1007 Main St. in St. Joseph, which Jay Patel said they also are trying to sell. He said the Silver Dollar opened in 1933 next door to the left of its current location, and he believes it was moved to the present and larger building in the 1940s or 1950s. The Patels are the third owners."
I turned 21 and spent the late hours of that evening at the Buck. Started to feel real bad and went out back. Before I knew it, a wave of jim beam sleepyness crept over me, I sat against the dumpster, and drifted into a comfy comatose. Before fading, 2 ladies were shaknig me asking me if I was OK and offering a ride home. "Sure" I said.
To this day, still don't know who those good samaritans were.
4 comments:
Rumors are flying that the Buck, a beloved bastion of burger, will soon be a FUCKING MARTINI BAR. So I had to stop by for beers and cheeseburgers to soak it all in - hopefully not for the last time. My goal was to take a picture in my mind good enough to communicate it here so future generations could appreciate "the sights, the sounds and oh yes, the smells" of the Silver Dollar. (thanks Marti DeBergi).
So what if the dish rag hangs into the garbage can and so what if the waitress puts her fingers in your beer glass…the Silver Dollar has been around for fifty years!
On this cold April afternoon, the Usual Suspects were bellied up to the bar:
Janice Joplin and Jim Morrison
The biggest Notre Dame fan around, glasses, black Nike’s with a fancy silver something on the back – The guy stared stone faced at the Lottery TV the entire time we were there. No drink, no burger, no blinking…
The stereotypical self-employed house painter
A couple Bubba’s with their chicks in a booth far enough away I couldn’t hear them talk to each other or their incessantly ringing cell phones.
The Sad Clown was. I think I can get E.T. off the wall and out the door without getting caught. The dripping oil light with the dead flies though is long gone as is the jukebox with anything resembling music.
The beer was cold.
The burgers weren’t amazing but I guess I was hoping for the best two cheeseburgers ever just to say it had a Ray Bourque-esque ending. I hope all their martinis smell like burgers. And not in a good way.
Sounds like "t.d." doomed the Buck to martini hell...
From the April 11th, 2007 Herald-Palladium: "Downtown SJ fixture will be shaken, stirred
Silver Dollar’s shot-and-a-beer rep likely to give way to martini bar and restaurant
By MICHAEL ELIASOHN and SARAH McEvilly
H-P Staff Writers
ST. JOSEPH — The Silver Dollar Cafe, which has been in downtown St. Joseph for 74 years, will undergo a big change if its intended sale goes through. Jay and Amy Patel, who have owned the bar and restaurant at 412 State St. since 1995, are selling the business to Bill Kowske of St. Joseph and John Havenaar of Stevensville.
However, the sale is contingent on transfer of the liquor license, which cleared its first step Monday night with approval of the transfer by the St. Joseph City Commission.
Patel said Tuesday it probably will take 1 1 ⁄ 2 to two months for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to act on the transfer. If approved, the sale will then take place.
Kowske said he and Havenaar plan to convert the Silver Dollar to a wine and martini bar, plus food. They said at the City Commission meeting they plan to offer appetizers, soup, salads and sandwiches.
“We’re still working on the menu and what we’re going to offer,” Kowske said Tuesday. They haven’t decided yet whether they also will serve beer.
They also are planning to add a second floor deck on the alley side of the restaurant, facing Lake Michigan.
The Silver Dollar will get a new name, Kowske said, and be smoke-free.
He said he and Havenaar thought about keeping the Silver Dollar as-is, that is, a traditional bar with smoking allowed, but decided to make the change. “We obviously want to offer something to the community that is not already here.”
As for banning smoking, he said, “There’s another side of this, (non-smoking) people enjoying a nice atmosphere, too.”
The liquor license includes a dance permit, which will allow the new owners to have live entertainment. “We want the option,” Kowske said Tuesday, adding that any entertainment likely will not include dancing.
Kowske said he and Havenaaar are buying the business, while they and some other investors are buying the building, also owned by the Patels.
The Patels also own Mickey’s Pub at 1007 Main St. in St. Joseph, which Jay Patel said they also are trying to sell.
He said the Silver Dollar opened in 1933 next door to the left of its current location, and he believes it was moved to the present and larger building in the 1940s or 1950s. The Patels are the third owners."
I turned 21 and spent the late hours of that evening at the Buck. Started to feel real bad and went out back. Before I knew it, a wave of jim beam sleepyness crept over me, I sat against the dumpster, and drifted into a comfy comatose. Before fading, 2 ladies were shaknig me asking me if I was OK and offering a ride home. "Sure" I said.
To this day, still don't know who those good samaritans were.
Hail the buck
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