Driving up to Elliott Street Deli & Pub feels like happening upon a beer & sandwich oasis among downtown surface streets and the stadium across the street. In fact, surprisingly little borders the dive bar itself, a surface lot surrounding it before giving way to a nearby fire station to the south, more parking and some railroad tracks (for character) to the east. The sign is an immediate siren song, styled in the comforting depiction of the PBR logo and resting above a mermaid leaning perilously over the street below.
Inside, the dollar bill game is strong at this Atlanta dive bar, thick layers covering the walls above and around the bar. And where the dollar bills begin to fade away, stickers start to take over, dotting the liquor-lined surfaces behind and around the service area behind the bar. The open-air nature of the bar orientation makes for some conducive PBR-fueled shouting, sound that echoes in a small room that might seem a bit larger from the outside.
The footprint of the building extends to a few layers of outdoor patio, taking advantage of the weather friendly to Atlanta dive bars. Out back, a metal gate separates the fire station-adjacent street from a short patio with a handful of chairs. In front, a covered porch provides a first layer of drinking opportunity adjacent to another outdoor seating area. During busy times (there’s a stadium across the street after all), outdoor taps serve not only the patio but the parking lot spillover that surrounds the bar, providing ample tailgating real estate.
