One way to determine the age of a devoted dive bar drinker in Buffalo may be to ask whether they remember Del Denby’s Tavern in its original state, a dive bar in every sense of the term opened in North Buffalo in the 1970s. At that time, the white wooden panels out front blended seamlessly with a hair salon next door, almost obscuring the Buffalo dive bar from view. Inside, a rustic bar, a barely-used secondary space and yes, more wood paneling, created the quintessential dive bar experience.
Opened and operated by Delbert Denby for more than 40 years, ownership was passed to current owner John Daly in 2015. The purchase came after an initial inquiry by Daly was rebuffed before a call out of the blue some time later offering the chance to Daly to purchase the space if he would agree to it by the next day. Daly did so and set to work renovating the space, preserving elements where possible and changing the space entirely in other places.
The tin roof today is a replica of the original, refinished in spots and augmented with new, matching pieces in some areas. The large glass window exists where there was once white paneling and small suggestions of windows, opening up the space to the world outside the front door. The vibe here is now a bit more upscale Irish pub than it is Buffalo dive bar, a back patio serving as a kind of oasis and popular gathering spot when the Buffalo weather allows. The centerpiece to this new iteration of Del’s (as it is known officially today) is the bar itself, a reclaimed piece that once sat in Buffalo’s Werner Building before being dismantled and freshly installed at Del’s instead.
