The Jolly Tinker On Webster Ave Has Been Open For 16,433 Consecutive Days

NYDN – Here’s a Bronx milestone that would make the great Lou Gehrig proud. Babe Ruth would be pretty buzzed, too. The Jolly Tinker in Bedford Park is about to celebrate its 45th birthday. Gehrig, it will be recalled, played in 2,130 consecutive games for the Bronx Bombers. That makes the Jolly Tinker the Iron Horse of Irish pubs. The proud Prendergast family, which has owned the watering hole the entire time, says it has been open 16,433 consecutive days — and counting. That includes Christmases, blackouts, blizzards, births, deaths, riots and more. “We had a fire in 1985 and even then we were able to reopen half a day later,” said Michael Prendergast Jr., 48, who claims the Tinker is also the only bar in the Bronx to be owned by a single family for all these years. With the exception of the Yankee Tavern, which opened in 1928, it’s also the oldest bar, period. Since opening its doors on Feb. 8, 1969, beer and spirits have flowed every single day without fail, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. until 4 a.m. And the bar doesn’t shy away from its age. The wood and stone walls are seemingly held up by relics of Bronx and Irish history, police and fire fighter memorabilia, and photographs from earlier times. “It doesn’t look like the ritziest place in the world,” said second generation regular Cunningham McKillop, 42. “But it’s the people that make it what it is.” “We see the sons and daughters of our original customers mixing with students from Fordham,” Prendergast said. “It’s been quite an achievement.” The second generation publican said the bar will host a birthday bash this Saturday featuring a mix of live music, drink specials and a special Bronx trivia game with prizes. “All are welcome,” Prendergast said. “We’re going to get together and pay tribute to those who have made this place what it is.”

Tinkers. As important of an establishment in the Bronx as Yankee Stadium or the restaurants on Arthur Avenue. 45 straight years they’ve been serving the Bronx locals and Fordham students with the booze they need. You don’t even need to be a Fordham freshman or a local Bronx bum to appreciate what Tinkers is. Everyone has that one or two bars in their life that are just like The Jolly Tinker. Its a down and dirty, no frills bar with whiskey and Guinness flowing. Dim lights, a dirty pool table, a juke box with only the essentials, and a distinct smell that lets you know you’re in the presence of bar greatness.One of those “If these walls could talk…” places where the stories the bar stools could tell could fill the pages of a novel.

How much better would life be if you owned a bar like this? I’m pretty sure at one point or another thats every man’s dream. Its not glamorous. Its not gonna give you a life of fame and fortune. But there’s some piece of every dude out there that wants to be a bar keep at a bar almost half a century old. Local legend for providing everyone with exactly what they want. Viva La Tinkers