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01/31/2018 11:01 PMWhen Growing up in Branford as a teenager in the 1970s, the legal drinking age was 18 and there were quite a few watering holes to choose from, some of which are no longer in existence. My own neighborhood boasted three establishments on Main Street, right up the street from where I lived in the Fourth Ward.
On the corner of Main and Kirkham was Smitty’s Stonewall Tavern (due to its proximity to the stone wall that sits right across Kirkham Street on the adjacent corner). It was reincarnated as both The Garage Café and Short Beach Saloon. A fire eventually ended its run and today it is the home of the Branford Jewelers.
Just a few steps to the west was The Silver Dollar. Having never set foot in “the Dollar,” I have been told that it was a jock bar, frequented by many of the town’s athletes. It, too, fell victim to a fire and is now a small office building.
Continuing west just a few more feet is the oldest “modern” bar in town, the Elm Café, with roots going back to 1952. It is still a popular spot with its faithful followers.
In the center of town there was the Old Town Café (today, Home Restaurant), affectionately known as Ralph’s by its regulars for its friendly owner/bartender. A little further down on Main was the Town & Country Café, aka the K-9 Club with its pool table for a leisurely or competitive game.
Down by the Branford River sits arguably the most popular of all the bars in town, The Meadow Restaurant, more commonly known as The Eel Pot, with its humble beginnings dating back to 1947. An old friend has assured me more than once that The Eel Pot boasted the best beef stew he had ever had. In 1982, the restaurant was leveled by an explosion, leaving only rubble. The joke around town was that volunteers reconstructed the bar so quickly because the wives of patrons wanted them out of the house!
There were other establishments—Lenny’s Indian Head Inn and the Sybil Creek Restaurant in Indian Neck, The 280 Pub on East Main Street, Libby’s Excuse Room on School Ground Road (now on Route 139) complete with its own disc bowling game, Pumpernickel Pub in the old Caldor (Kohl’s) shopping plaza, Jeannie Ryan’s at the top of Branford Hills, and in more recent years, Bix’s Café at the old Friendly’s spot in the Richlin plaza, and Allegra’s Café at the bottom of Branford Hills.
Today, Branford is a town with three microbreweries—Stony Creek Brewery, the largest of the three; Duvig Brewing Company; and Thimble Island Brewing Company. These businesses offer more of an upscale experience for its customers, but there is still room for the little guys.
Mike Russo is a lifelong Branford resident and proud parent of two.