When a massive fire at Abington’s SPS Technologies sent smoke billowing over the township last month, several bars and restaurants in the shelter-in-place radius closed, but one stalwart remained open: Buckets Tavern, Jenkintown’s long-standing dive bar, where last call is at 1:45 a.m. seven nights a week, and Miller High Life is $3 all day, every day.
Anyone familiar with Buckets probably didn’t bat an eye at the bar’s decision to stay open; it’s one of the area’s few remaining smoking bars, so its regulars are accustomed to some haze.
As of this weekend, that’s no longer the case. For the first time in its 54-year tenure and 17 years after the institution of Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act, Buckets has gone smoke-free. The West Avenue bar closed last week to install a new ceiling and spruce up the place with fresh paint, tables, and chairs. It reopened March 1.
“It’s just that time,” owner Joe Braman said. “We have people come in to our bar, turn right around, and walk out.”
Buckets’ managing partner, Matthew Martin, said that while the tavern’s employees were excited for the switch, they approached the move pragmatically with their most loyal customers. “We care about our regulars, and we discussed it with them. But we let them know, it’s time for us to make the change,” Martin said. “We feel that they’ll be back. They’ll just go outside and smoke, like they do everywhere else.”
It’s ultimately a business decision. “There’s more nonsmokers than smokers. It’s a percentage,” Braman said. “Kids today, they didn’t grow up with smoke. Their parents didn’t even smoke.” (As of last year, just 11% of U.S. adults smoke, according to a Gallup poll, the lowest since the firm began surveying cigarette use in 1944. For adults 18 to 29, that number drops to 6%.)
A cash-only bar, Buckets stands out among the more polished newcomers that have sprung up in Jenkintown. There’s the Keep Easy, specializing in craft cocktails and mead; Human Robot, serving up some of the city’s best IPAs and lagers along with excellent Mexican food from James Beard-nominated chef Dionicio Jimenez; and , pairing pizza with classic cocktails, craft beer, and affordably priced wine. Compared to low-key local watering holes like the Drake Tavern and King’s Corner, Buckets feels more weathered, its food and drink menu slimmer. (Indeed, Buckets was able to remain a smoking bar for so long because food accounted for less than 20% of its sales.)
Because of Buckets’ late hours — the kitchen’s open till midnight, 12:30 a.m. on weekends — it has a following among hospitality workers who want to get a drink after their shifts, but some fellow bartenders’ business had started to taper off. They cited the lingering smoke, which was pervasive even if no one in the bar was lighting up. “As they get older, they said they can’t tolerate it as much,” Martin said.
Buckets was the first place Braman, 73, had a drink when he turned 21 — “or 18, whatever it was back then,” he said. Back then, the bar at 810 West Ave. was the Yorkshire House. “They had the best roast beef sandwiches in Montgomery County. They had ham and beef they sliced right behind the bar. People would come in for the ham and the beef sandwiches, couple beers, and off they go,” he remembered.
“Back to work in those days,” Martin laughed.
Johnny Martin (no relation to Matthew) bought the bar and renamed it Buckets in 1971, and as Braman recalls, it was an immediate success. “Johnny Martin, on a weekly basis, he’d pump more draft beer out than any bar in Montgomery County,” Braman said. “People were hanging out the door.” Buckets attracted a student crowd from nearby colleges like Penn State Ogontz, Beaver College (now Arcadia University), and Temple Ambler.
Buckets was briefly featured in an episode of The Goldbergs, whose creator, Adam F. Goldberg, grew up in Jenkintown (like Braman and Martin). “He was gonna do a whole episode about when they tried to sneak into Buckets when they were 18,” Braman said.
Braman and Matthew Martin took over the bar in 2004. Braman also owned Hollywood Tavern, near Rockledge, until last year. (Smoking is still permitted there.)
Martin, 55, started working at Buckets in the ’90s, back when the premium cable channel PRISM still had a lock on broadcasting many area sports games. “There was no cable in the city — Comcast wasn’t there. So it was busy almost every night because everybody would come up to the suburbs to watch the Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers games,” Martin remembers. “Every night was a good night.”
But that’s long since been the case, and it’s weighed on Braman at times. “This is my parking lot out back, and it’s packed on Friday and Saturday night. And Buckets is empty. They’re at a movie, they’re at 211, they’re at Drake. They’re every place but Buckets,” he said, referring to the Hiway Theater and the former 211 York (now Newbolds).
Going nonsmoking is the first step toward amending that. The small crowd at Buckets on Sunday afternoon seemed to be enjoying the freshly painted digs. They nursed beers and mixed drinks as they gathered around the L-shaped bar to watch spring training; everyone cheered and the bartender rang a bell suspended above the bar when the Phils scored. The air was clear. Mini tacos made a wonderful midafternoon snack.
Martin reported a steady turnout throughout reopening day. “Only two people walked in and walked out because they forgot the rules,” he laughed. “Everybody was happy there was no smell and complimented how well the place looked. People stayed longer.”
Martin is planning to let the cook experiment with different food specials for a more diverse crowd, even if he suspects the bar’s wings (10 for $12.95) and cheesesteak ($10.50) will still rule the day. He’s hopeful more folks will walk into Buckets and stay put. (It’s not the type of dive bar where a stranger turns heads, I can attest.)
“Hopefully now community people will come in, you know. Don’t be scared now to come in!” Martin said, laughing. “There’s no more excuses.”
Buckets Tavern at 810 West Ave., Jenkintown, is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 2 a.m. Sunday.
