It could be the end of an era.
The Pub, Rye’s only downtown “dive” bar, was put up for sale on Monday after operating at 3 Elm Place for more than 40 years.
In spite of a steep $975,000 asking price, owner Dennis “DJ” Schack said that within 12 hours of its listing, four prospective buyers visited the tiny 713-square foot-bar on 0.02 acres.
The property traces its roots as a drinking establishment all the way back to the 1920s. Originally called Buggies and then The Little Club, The Pub was created by long-time proprietor James Finneran in 1982.
Schack, who lives in Greenwich, Conn., and has worked for years in the bar and restaurant industry, said he was friends with Finneran and bought it from him in September 2018. Finneran later died in 2023.
“He wanted to sell to someone who would keep it alive,” Schack told The Record.
A small saloon that doesn’t serve food (other than occasional free popcorn), The Pub can still attract a good crowd on weekend nights and when it holds dart tournaments every other Tuesday night, according to bartender Joe Juliano.
On a recent 9 p.m. visit, Juliano was the only person sitting beneath the bar’s unusual wooden ceiling which once topped a railroad car.
Around 9:30 p.m. a regular came in. “Macio” from Harrison (he declined to give his full name) was dumbstruck when he heard that The Pub was for sale and might close.
Photo David Hessekiel
“Everything else around here is bougie,” Macio said. “Where else can I go after a hard day at work where they know what I want without asking?” (In Macio’s case a Tito’s vodka with light ice.)
The Pub will continue operating, although perhaps only on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, until it is sold, said Schack, who also owns Sam’s Bar & Grill in Byram.
Buying The Pub was a “passion project,” but unfortunately the bar never fully recovered from the huge hit it took during the pandemic, Shack said, admitting that he no longer has the time or energy to rebuild the business.
“I hope that somebody will buy it to keep it The Pub,” he added. “It’s my sincerest hope that somebody doesn’t turn it into an office.”
