A very old, budget-friendly New York bar with bras hanging from the ceiling and sports broadcasts on TV. You can listen to music in Jeremy’s Ale House only through a special jukebox, and everything looks very modest. But in this bar, among the locals and without a single tourist, you can 100% feel that you are in the United States here and now.
In 1973, Mr. Holin got into the hospitality business on a whim. He and his wife Cheryl were walking around the seaport and saw an opportunity. “There was nothing but a flea market in the neighborhood,” he said. “I hated my car sales job, and during that walk I decided I would quit and open a beer and sandwich stand.”
That stand, where he sold only heroic sandwiches and Schaefer beer, eventually became so popular that he eventually opened a regular version on Front Street in 1981. Since then, the bar has moved several times, but remains in the same neighborhood at 228 Front Street.
Fried seafood made with fresh, never frozen clams, scallops and squid is a favorite.
Fried seafood made with fresh, never frozen clams, scallops and squid is a favorite.Credit…Ramsay de Geve for The New York Times
Despite the dive bar vibe, the drinks and food at Jeremy’s are far from bad. The fried seafood with fresh, never frozen clams, scallops and squid is a favorite, as is the 1973 hero sandwich. The potato chips and tartare, cocktail and barbecue sauces are homemade, and there are 20 beers on tap.
Mr. Holin’s 41-year-old son, Lee, helps him run the bar in the city, while his other son, Jason, 47, oversees the Freeport, Long Island location that the elder Mr. Holin opened 15 years ago.
