4 Bars for Holiday Reunion Hangouts
You’re home for the holidays! Or you’re in town with your significant other visiting family. Either way there will come a point when you’ve had your fill of food, watched all the Home Alone you can handle, and heard enough of Uncle Frank’s terrible opinions. At that point it’s time to call your friends and hit the town for an impromptu reunion. Here’s a few spots that are sure to be hopping with locals and ex-pats who have also had their fill of turkey and Uncle Frank.
Coles: Let’s start with the place to meet up during the holidays and the unofficial sponsor of Thanksgiving hangouts. The iconic Buffalo pub is bumping year round, but come holiday season it’s action packed with visitors, locals and ex-pats all looking to reunite with old friends and maybe make some new ones. So many people make Coles their holiday hangout that not only will you see the friends you planned on seeing, you’ll run into pals you haven’t seen since Home Alone was in theaters.
Image courtesy of Coles
The Jake: If you find yourself north of the city The Jake is where you want to be. This neighborhood bar got a healthy dose of cool after being bought and upgraded by the owners of former local favorite, Papa Jake’s. Just like the old spot, the new one serves up great food, cold beer and tasty drinks. Before it was “The Jake” a local celebrity turned ex-pat used to host a party here for Kenmore natives home for the holidays. The party doesn’t happen anymore, but locals still flock to the Delaware Avenue location for cocktails.
Big Ditch: The downtown brewery is the perfect meeting place for a vast array of get togethers. Brewery tours, birthday parties, office parties, high school reunions; I’ve seen it all at Big Ditch. The upstairs fireplace and shuffleboard table are great places to convene with your closest chums. And downstairs, everyone’s favorite bartender, Eric Coleman, is behind the pine slinging some of the most scrumptious, frostiest brews in Buffalo. It’s a can’t-miss good time.
Big Ditch Brewing Company
Ebenezer Ale House: Bar and restaurant in the front, brewery in the back. The Ale House is the mullet of holiday meeting places! The West Seneca establishment is a big hit among Southtowners. With the addition of the Rusty Nickel Brewing Company at the back of the property the Ale House is sure to be packed with patrons eager to try their unique libations.
Friends, I miss you. We need to get together soon and Buffalo’s resurgence has given us so many great places to escape to during the holidays. So when the leftovers are put away, and you’ve answered all the intrusive questions about your personal life, grab a friend and meet me out for a drink. I’m buying. Just leave Uncle Frank at home.
