Take Your Beer For a Walk: April 2026
The ghosts of Erie bars past
I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm not an Erie native. I grew up in Western New York and arrived here during the summer of 2004, spending my early Gem City years on upper Peach Street as an assistant hotel manager. I didn't become "bar aware" so to speak until I took a job downtown a few years later. Even then I didn't frequent the cool places for a while because I was… uh, boring.
But don't worry! I figured it out and dialed in my travels to the more well-known watering holes since then. And speaking of watering holes, we're going to take a ghost bar tour of sorts this month, traversing city streets in search of bars long gone as part of the Erie Reader's 15th anniversary (congrats guys!).
First and foremost snag your beer and let's start out our monthly celebration of Erie's lack of open container policy at 508 State St. This was the former entrance to Sherlock's, a longtime music venue once titled as "Erie's home for rock 'n roll." It featured a raised balcony overlooking State Street making it a perfect venue for parade and people watching during CelebrateErie and connected to the Park Place side through brick arches on the interior. This was the afterparty spot for the once popular RockErie Music Awards, a proper celebration of local musicians. I attended the last show here back in 2018 right before their closure and I have to say, it was a great, great spot. Cheers to you, Sherlock's and Park Place!
From here we'll mosey south on State to 1013 State St., former home to the Crooked i. Opened in Feb. 2010, it regularly hosted shows of varied music genres alongside a solid beer lineup, custom cocktails, and maybe most notably, absinthe. In fact, the anise-based liquor had a shrine as described by the Erie Reader's own Ben Speggen back in 2011. This joint sadly closed down in 2014. Cheers to you, Crooked i!
Alright, speaking of crooked, we're going to head back north along State Street, even though I know we just came from that way. Look, we're getting some steps in while drinking your beer along the way. Hoof it until landing at 506 State, former home of Molly Brannigans. And yes, I know we were just next door, but this is a typical route back in the day, meandering up and down Erie's main drag. Molly's building was originally built in 1858 and it was a top-tier Irish bar and restaurant with furniture shipped directly from Ireland that's still in place. It was a happy hour spot where I'd gather around the fireplace in a weathered wingback chair and enjoy a Guinness. I always went the wrong way exiting the restroom located in the basement, too. Cheers to you, Molly Brannigan's!
One last stop, which doesn't really have an old address. Remember the original block parties? The Erie Downtown Partnership used to shut down a block or two of downtown, set up the city's mobile stage, and throw a summer party on Thursday nights. These parties fully embraced the open container situation in our fair town, even handing out t-shirts that stated, "you had me at open container." I know, right!? It was a business driver for local bars and restaurants, eventually fading out as more and more people simply brought their own drinks. But man, they were fun. Find a random street corner and join me in saying cheers to you, O.G. downtown block parties!
Thanks a bunch for coming along in my open beer time machine this month. Keep on drinking, and walking, local!
Jeff McCullor is the co-owner of Erie Ale Works. He can be reached at jeff@eriealeworks.com
