BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Old Pink was known by music legends from KISS to the Goo Goo Dolls but Buffalonians were its lifeblood. It was a ubiquitous part of city nightlife and a dive bar that welcomed all in the heart of Allentown.
Whether you loved the 4 a.m. closing time, the dingy but desirable atmosphere, or the steak sandwiches, The Old Pink was home to many.
Those aspects and more are what employees and regulars said they'll miss the most after a devastating fire forced the iconic dive bar to close forever on Monday.
The purple-painted brick building was an anchor in the neighborhood and countless people came to pay their respects and reminisce, sharing with 2 On Your Side what The Old Pink meant to them.
"When you think Allentown you think The Pink it's been there forever. My dad's first wife was a bartender there you know, my dad went there, it was generations of Buffalo families going there and all having crazy memories," said Pink regular Olivia Abbate.
"The night usually didn't start at The Pink but it was the best place to end and just they had the best music in Buffalo for any bar 100%. It was just fun, always an interesting crowd, and playing pool and darts there was fun it was just a great place to be," said Connor Baetzhold.
As difficult as it has been for regulars to contemplate the loss, the employees and the owner of the dive bar have had a harder time.
Longtime DJ Eric Van Rysdam and co-manager Nicholas Stilb gathered along Allen Street in the hours after the fire to console their colleagues and come together as a team under challenging circumstances.
Van Rysdam told 2 On Your Side he had fully expected to be back in the bar this weekend, not knowing that when he left The Old Pink Saturday night it'd be his last time.
"It was a place for everybody. It was a place, I saw somebody post this, it's the place you didn't plan on going but you ended up at. I used to tell people we're the drain pipe of Buffalo nightlife. Everybody goes everywhere but by 2 o'clock in the morning they're here because they're not ready to go home yet and we're still humming along," Van Rysdam said.
"In a perfect world this place would be rebuilt and we'd all be able to go back to work and co-mingle with all the people in this city again but I don't know, I don't know what's to come, it's not my decision to make either but we'll see what happens," said co-manager Nicholas Stilb.
In an Instagram post, The Old Pink called Monday a "devastating day" for their staff, the community, and the Brinkworth family. They encouraged patrons to come by the bar and pay their respects; hundreds of people did.
Colleen Evans, the daughter of Pink owner Molly Brinkworth has created a GoFundMe and is asking for donations to help with her family's situation. She also asked for patience going forward.
"We aren't sure what comes next but we want to thank everyone that has reached out to extend a hand," Evans wrote on the fundraising page.
As of 8:00 p.m. Monday, the GoFundMe had already surpassed the set $10,000 goal.
The Old Pink was as much about memories shared as memories kept or as many recalled Monday memories forgotten.
"What happens at The Pink stays at The Pink it's just one of those magical places," said Tiffany Turner.
By 3:00 p.m. the largest crowd of the day had gathered to watch the emergency demolition of the bar. The building at 223 Allen Street was a total loss. People cheered when the metal Buffalo that adorned the front of the bar was pulled from the rubble.
A moment of levity followed by another.
When demolition was finished, people started salvaging The Old Pink's iconic purple and green bricks and brought a piece of the bar home.
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