Routinely cited as one of the nation’s best dive bars, Buffalo’s The Old Pink lives up to the hype with an iconic sandwich and a relentlessly divey interior. Located in the city’s Allentown neighborhood, the building has been part of the Brinkworth family since 1968, working through a few rental agreements and management shifts over the years without upsetting the winning formula of late closing hours (4 AM) and the kind of food perfect for a late closing hour. The space is perfect dive bar material, from sagging ceiling tiles to dim lighting to a relentless explosion of color across murals, graffiti, stickers and even tiled mosaics throughout the space.
Chief export of The Old Pink is its steak sandwich, an item the Buffalo dive bar famously makes little profit from but is usually among the first food items recommended on a trip to the city. The cut of steak used is premium not just by dive bar standards but by restaurant standards, the sandwich’s sales one of the elements that kept The Old Pink afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The steak sandwich deservingly earns its praise, but don’t sleep on the bologna sandwich at The Old Pink, another classic.
Officially named Allen Street Bar & Grill, The Old Pink refers to a time in 1983 when the space was rented out to Mark Supples, who promptly opened a bar called The Pink Flamingo. After moving the Pink Flamingo, Allen Street Bar & Grill resumed operation in the space but the naming convention stuck, the “new pink” referring to Pink Flamingo’s new location and “The Old Pink” the enduring moniker for the space left behind. Today, the mural that has cycled from Buffalo city skyline to green flames has been painted over due to decree by the city to remove “graffiti” from downtown buildings. Management pledges to restore the mural-laden look to the Buffalo dive bar in the near future.
