Tony Sylvester: A Tavern Owner for the People

A successful business reflects the personality of its owner, and Tony’s Tavern is a perfect example. You step through the front door onto a wood floor that once belonged to the old Grover Center, and the staff makes you feel instantly welcome. A regular walks in and the bar turns into a scene from Cheers. It’s a unique community of good-hearted and generous people, and it all starts at the top with Tony himself.

The bar from has a different feel just because of it’s location. “We cater to a different crowd. It helps that we’re not on Court Street, we’re around the corner. We also have a symbiotic relationship with Casa, and we’ve built a community.”

There isn’t another bar owner quite like Tony Sylvester, his upbeat attitude and humorous demeanor resonate throughout the bar. On March 26, Tony will celebrate his 34th year in business. But his focus has never been on the money, it’s about the people he’s around. “He’s a man who will look out for his people,” the bartender said. “I don’t have a single bad thing to say about him.” His management style and personality are a model for how a bar should be run.

I recently worked on an e-book about alcoholic coffee drinks, and my search for recipes led me to Tony’s — the birthplace of the Hot Nut: a hazelnut-infused coffee shot warmed to perfection. Right away, I knew this place was special just from the decorations, particularly the mermaid hanging from the ceiling. I sat down at the bar and talked with a bartender named Collin. He gave me some recipes and tips, let me sample a little and we had a good time. Collin suggested I talk to the owner because he loves people and would love to chat; but he wasn’t around. After a while, my interview with him began to slur a bit, and I was about to leave, when a smiling, silver-haired man walked through the door and Collin said, “that’s your guy.”

“Don’t touch the mermaid. I don’t know what the story is or why it’s here, but it’s my job to tell people not to touch it, and I have to say it about 1,000 times a day.”

I invited Tony to sit at the bar and talk about the e-book. I knew I was in great company when he started giving me advice faster than I could write, complete with anecdotes and hilarious insights. The people in the room was drawn to him, and he was excited to be around people. He told me, “My simple philosophy has always been to own a bar that I’d want to go to.” I wanted to learn more of this man’s story, so I agreed to meet with him again before the bar opened next week. After Tony left, Collin came back over and said, “I’ve worked here for 10 years and I don’t wanna work for anyone else.”

“There’s history everywhere you look. You’re even standing on it.” The floors were originally a part of the old Grover Center at Ohio University.

I ran into an old teacher and friend, Ashley Hopkins, a Tony’s regular. “I’m always here. Just to hangout or play darts, I love this place,” Hopkins said. “Tony is by-far one of the nicest and most generous people you’ll ever meet.” I learned that Tony was one of the founders of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Athens — a charity that provides supportive mentors for children in need. Just how great is this guy?

“I’m always at Tony’s playing darts. It’s where I can be myself and I’ve met some of my best friends here.”

My second visit came around noon, three hours before open. It was a different site; chairs were still up, kegs were untapped and the lights were all on for a change. But the laughter and jokes coming from the staff remained the same. The decorations that covered the walls were even more prevailing. I sat down with Tony, no drinks this time, while a few others worked around us. With a smile, he told me how he got his start in 1979 at Ponderosa, and how it led to his dream bar.

“I came to (Athens) in ’79 to run the Ponderosa in town,” Tony said with a grin. “Myself and a couple other managers at Ponderosa decided that, since we were 26–27, that owning a bar in Athens was a great idea!” The group got together and tried to purchase The Greenery, which is now The Overhang, but the deal never went through.

“After that, the others got promoted and went off to different stores and I was still in Athens. Then, that guy that owned The Greenery was going to open another bar here,” he said. After a failed manager, Roman Warmke, the owner, asked Tony to come run the bar.

“I had great people from the start. Brad, my manager of 24 years passed away in 2006 from Brain Cancer. His best friend and executive to his will, Bubba, passed away of a heart attack 9 months later to the day. It was the year my mother died. So 2006 was a lousy year. But if you live long enough, everyone dies before you.”

Warmke completely remodeled the building to look like it did back in 1840 before Tony started, and set him up to build the bar the way he wanted to.

“When I took over, this place was an empty room. No bar or booths, I had to work hard. So I did, 24/7. And it was worth every minute.”

“Timing was good. Swanky’s had closed down, the union changed hands and I hired some great bartenders and managers. I got lucky. And having worked at a fast food restaurant like Ponderosa, working 90 hours a week was no problem,” he said. “So for the first three years I lived in a $120/month walk-up. I worked every day, but working seven days a week isn’t that bad when you’re working for yourself.”

Tony calls himself lucky, I call him dedicated. He had a dream and a simple philosophy, to create a bar he’d want to go to, and he seized the opportunity through hard work. Instead of being hardened and greedy, he maintains his love for people and treats his customers like family.

“It’s been a nice ride. People are, I don’t want to say a hobby, but a passion of mine,” he said. “I love making people laugh, I want people to have a good time. The only thing I enjoyed at Ponderosa was the customers, I didn’t enjoy the business side.” There is no bar owner that treats their people better than Tony.

“I met my lifelong partner on the back porch. I owe Tony everything.”

The tavern isn’t the most popular destination for students, but that’s a result of the culture that Tony created. He wanted the bar to feel like a community instead of a business, and he’s done that with a consistent crowd of alumni and an older clientele.

“The students aren’t our main crowd, but we still share a special connection to the town and Ohio University. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re around long enough.”

“When you go to the CI or these other bars, you get older, and you’re standing in middle of the crowd and you realize that you don’t know a single person in that bar anymore,” Tony said. “You come here and it’s everybody you used to know.”

Josh Chandler, a manager, took this opportunity to joke about Tony’s age. I hid a chuckle not knowing whether or not to laugh, but this was Tony. He made a wise-crack right back, and we all laughed. It really does feel like you’re part of a family.

As we finished the interview, he gave me some advice for college students, “This is the only time in your life where you can do exactly what you’re doing, because once you graduate, you find a job. Then it’s Friday night with friends, and Saturday date nights, and you find a significant other. Then date nights become weekends,” Tony said. “All of the sudden, you lose your ability to party all night and get up and make an 8 o’clock class.”

I laughed to hide my fear of the word “graduate.” His smile widened.

“Make all the memories you can in college and at your age,” he said. “Because it’s the things that make you smile forever. And don’t get drunk enough to fall down the step.” We laughed. I told him the story of how I got drunk enough to fall down the step. We laughed harder.

“This is the last bar you visit before you graduate, but it’s the one you remember and come back to.” Alumni constantly flood back to Tony’s on Homecoming, dawning the bar memorabilia from their years.

Tony got up to go back to work, then Chandler walked over and summed up his boss in one sentence: “He probably didn’t tell you he’s the best, but he is the best.”

“I started as a door guy 15 years ago, before I moved behind the bar. Now I never want to leave.”

My short time spent with Tony Sylvester and the people of Tony’s Tavern made me feel like a regular. An owner like Tony is hard to come by, his love of life and the people around him are the base of his bar. His workers love and respect him, and the patrons keep coming back even after graduation. He started it all with a vision and made his dream come true through hard work and an unwavering smile, something we can all look up to.