
Please COMMENT on this post with your fondest memories of cheeseburgers and schoopers of PBR from the Buck. I'l bury this in a time capsule made of seasoned french fries wrapped in red shag carpeting only to be opened when "The Head of The Class" rises from the grave...
5 comments:
Hello Mr. Ast -
I don't know if you know or remember me, but I think you remember my Dad, Mike Yore.
His social organizing fires have not burned brightly in me (so far) but the idea of The Buck closing has kindled a fairly hot flame within.
WWMD? Though I live in what may have been referred to as the 'pinko' hills of sunny Northern California now, I know the idea of commune-ity
rings true in 'ol St. Joe also. Maybe we can propose a mil tax and buy the place, turning it into a public utility of sorts? I mean, come on, they have cars that run on corn, I'm sure the grease from the Buck's fry pit could power the West Coast of Michigan for a few eons.
Now, I've gotta admit, I love myself some dirty Martini's - they definitely do the trick, but I look at this moment as a call to arms. The only olives in the Buck should be swimming in Mayonnaise on top of a burger. Let's organize a "St. Joseph V Party" (to reflect our forefathers Tea Party in Boston Harbor) by symbolically throwing olives, Gin and Vodka into the muddy ol river down the block. I think you probably know someone on the HP staff with a camera to cover this momentus event? Maybe we should chain ourselves to the bar (footrest)?
I started a blog at www.BurgerTour.org a couple years back that chronicles my brother in arms, Brad German (who would be glad to help out with any on the spot organizing), and my Homeric journey through our universe's best burger joints. There is now a 'post' there where anyone who cares can post their thoughts about this pitiless situation.
Please post your thoughts there, and let the world know there is a place to let their grease laden voices to be heard.
WWMD? This may be our last stand to hold onto what makes St. Joseph still (almost) digestable.
Visit the blog here :
http://burgertour.blogspot.com/2007/04/save-buck-red-shag-on-walls-forever.html
hamburgler said...
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.
I could not have imagined living to see the day when the Buck is gone. The Silver Dollar has been a burger institution for as long as I can remember. My god, a martini bar...I thought that is what the arts district in BH was for. Of course, all good things must come to an end. I do remember with some fondness, having a deluxe burger. The mayo was the sloppy adhesive that kept the olives from falling off and the bun from sliding away. The burger formed puddles of grease into the wax paper lining the red plastic basket. There was nothing neat about eating it. Just keep grabbing napkins.
Over time and countless burgers, I had become accustomed to the waitresses waiting until I was done eating before asking how it was. I am not sure if that was a defensive strategy or just strange coincidence.
There always appeared to be one open table at lunch time. My favorite was between the dogs playing pool, and the velvet E.T. Every time I looked at the dogs, I found some odd curiosity I had not noticed before. Time has been good to the paintings. They have aged gracefully through years of endless smoky nights. The nicotine stains tarnished the colors in such a natural way, almost as if it was what they needed all along. I miss the place already.
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 Have naaar are buying the business, while they and some other investors are buying the build ing, 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."
Silver Dollar a place of infinite fond memories
Editor,
What a sad day. The Silver Dollar has been sold and is to undergo several changes. Down through the decades, it has been a place where births, graduations, engagements, wedding, reunions, parades, festivals, holidays, sports, keno, and lottery winnings, job promotions, etc., were celebrated. It has been a place where illnesses, deaths, divorces, job losses, Columbine, 9/11, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Desert Storm and Iraqi wars, among other atrocities, were received with somber awareness and heavy hearts. All were experienced by a community of caring individuals who gathered there.
It is a place where the lonely can come and not feel lonely; where the anxious, depressed and developmentally challenged and disabled can find comfort. Not because of the alcohol, but because of the caring people who frequently are there. It is a place where donations for those in financial distress due to illnesses, funeral costs, fires and other unfortunate events are received and presented to those of such need. It is a place where not only are friendships made, but extended families are created. It is the last of a dying breed – the neighborhood bar. It is the “Cheers” of the community, where you are known by your name and not by just sir or ma’am.
The Silver Dollar and Milli Miles, current manager and an employee of more than 20 years, have become synonymous. Everyone knows Milli. She is not only a fabulous cook of comfort foods, but an genuine tender, loving person with a big heart who is there to welcome you home. For the Silver Dollar is a second home, not only for the locals, but for those who return for visits from other places regardless if they had lived here before or were tourists. These folks know that they will be embraced just as they are and always considered as part of the Silver Dollar family.
The Silver Dollar is a down-toearth place, not some cold, upscale establishment, and will be missed, grieved and yearned for. It’s a place of precious memories.
To Milli, the friends I have made there, and even those who have passed on the their eternal home, I give thanks and am filled with gratitude through and through. You and the Silver Dollar can never be replaced. I’m sure I’m not alone in these sentiments. May God bless you.
Keith Sliter Benton Harbor
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