BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Mulligan’s Brick Bar, an iconic Allentown bar and longtime neighbor of The Old Pink, is expanding its hours to fill a neighborhood void left by The Old Pink.
Starting June 24, Brick Bar will be open 7 days a week. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
It will now be open 7 days a week to fill a neighborhood void left by The Pink, which was open 365 days a year. Expanded hours are allowing Brick Bar to expand its staff, and they have already hired some former employees of The Pink.
The Pink was destroyed by a fire on Monday morning and was demolished Monday afternoon.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun headed over to Brick Bar to learn more about this "Good Neighbor" gesture as the dust has settled and The Old Pink is now a memory for the Allentown community.
"It'll be a little bit different and it's tough to forget a bar that has been such a staple," Mulligan's Brick Bar manager Paul Baggs explained.
However, The Pink's employees are in the hearts and minds of its next-door neighbor.
"Right away said, we should reach out and offer to the bartenders over there that if you need employment, we might be able to help you out," Baggs said.
"We did hire, immediately two of them and if there is any other positions that are going to be opening up here, we will immediately go to them first to see if any of them need a job because they've been part of the neighborhood forever," Baggs said.
According to Baggs, this is just the Buffalo way.
"It's what we do here. When things go bad, you band together and you do something about it," Baggs shared. "It's just what you do. I really feel like if this building burned to the ground after working here 22 years, if I would want to work at another bar."
He said the new bartenders and security guard from The Old Pink will start next week.
The bar meant a lot to the community, its employees and its patrons. A GoFundMe has been created to help raise money to help the owner of the bar and the staff.
On Monday night, the community showed up to what's left of The Old Pink for a candlelight vigil
7 News spoke with Molly Brinkworth, the longtime owner of The Old Pink, on Wednesday for the first time since the fire.
Brinkworth wants everyone to know she is grateful for that support which is helping her through a challenging time.
