Tip-Top Bar & Grill
A Bed-Stuy fixture for more than 50 years, Tip-Top Bar & Grill feels nostalgic and built for low-key turn-ups, like your uncle’s basement back in the day.
“My dad came up with this,” says Linda Greer of the dive’s decor, an amalgam of Christmas lights, tinsel, a permanently displayed “Happy Birthday” banner, and a jukebox that trends toward ‘70s R&B.“ Originally conceived as a pool hall, her father, Walter “Junior” Alston, opened Tip-Top in the early ‘50s, and it has stayed in the family ever since.
“A lot of the clientele says they love coming here because it reminds them of their hometown bars”.
“A lot of the clientele says they love coming here because it reminds them of their hometown bars,” Greer says. “We never really modernized it because we didn’t want to take away from that.”
The secret to their longevity? Greer, who has lived in Bed-Stuy since she was four years old, makes it plain: “We own the building.”
Tip-Top keeps its regulars coming, however, with underpriced drinks (including the “$5 Special” — one shot, plus a beer, for $5), a Thursday night “Snacky Hour” with free chicken wings and hot sausages, and incredible staff (many of whom are actually related) who treat you like family.
432 Franklin Ave., 718-857-9744, Tip-Top Bar & Grill on Facebook
