A Philadelphia real estate group is under agreement to buy the building that housed McGlinchey’s Bar, a slice of nightlife history, which closed last summer.
And the prospective buyer — Alterra Property Group — is using a cheeky Zach Bryan reference in paperwork, drumming up interest from internet sleuths.
“We are under agreement to buy the building where McGlinchey’s used to operate, and the associated liquor license as well,“ Alterra principal Leo Addimando said in a statement to The Inquirer.
Interest in the time-honored dive bar, on 15th Street between Locust and Spruce Streets since the early 1930s, was keen. This weekend, a social-media frenzy erupted when an orange liquor-license placard was spotted on the facade. People were quick to spot the applicant’s name: Great American Bar Scene LLC.
Bryan, a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, references McGlinchey’s in a song off his fifth album, The Great American Bar Scene. The lyrics to “28″ go: “When did McGlinchey’s get so crowded? And why are the crowds so damn green?” Bryan, who reportedly lived in Philly, also previously performed at the bar.
» READ MORE: With McGlinchey’s impending closure, Center City marks the end of an era — or several, really
“We took inspiration from Zach Bryan’s references to McGlinchey’s in song when naming the LLC,“ Addimando’s statement continued. The property hit the market in January. ”We will announce future plans for the building and liquor license down the line when we are further along.”
Nadia Bilynski of MPN Realty, who is handling the transaction for both parties with Dennis Carlisle, Ken Mallin, and Josh Nadel, also confirmed that the property and license were under agreement.
For generations of regulars, McGlinchey’s was known less for reinvention than for what it refused to give up: cash-only tabs, smoking long after most bars banned it, and prices that seemed detached from inflation. It seemed to outlast trends simply by ignoring them, and bars like it are fewer and farther between. Earlier this year, Cherry Street Tavern’s owners decided it’s time to sell the old world saloon.
McGlinchey’s building was built in 1922, and the bar downstairs opened in the 1950s. Henry Sokol purchased the business in 1968. After his death in 1985, it was passed along to sons Ronald and Sheldon.
Ron Sokol died in 2022, and last summer’s closing was prompted by Sheldon’s retirement.
Addimando did not say if he planned to keep the name or if Bryan was involved.
Sandra Sokol, Ron Sokol’s widow, said in January: “I would really like it to remain McGlinchey’s and for a new owner to keep it as close as possible to what it was. I especially feel that way because I know Ronnie would have wanted it to continue into the next chapter.”
» READ MORE: Zach Bryan wants to share some tunes at McGlinchey’s Bar