Long-running South Philly bars The Dive and Watkins Drinkery are up for sale, with owner Jonn Klein aiming for an early retirement by year’s end.
“I’ve put so much of me and my life into both of these places,” the 47-year-old told Billy Penn. “But the flipside is, I’m at a point where I just need to be done.”
The Dive opened in 2005, with Klein purchasing the three-story venue at 947 E Passyunk Ave, then called Low Bar, from a military lawyer summoned for overseas duty. It’s since developed a reputation as an old school shot-and-a-beer spot for a younger crowd. Past the ground floor, it’s also one of the city’s last smoking bars, an exemption that’s likely to end with transfer of ownership, according to Philadelphia law.
Watkins Drinkery opened its doors in 2010. Previously known as Bell Rosa II, the two-story wood-paneled corner spot at 10th and Watkins “looked a lot like it does now,” Klein said, except instead of framed photos of Bratislava — Klein is 1/4 Slovak — “it was stills from Goodfellas and The Godfather on the walls.”
It was also, Klein discovered when state police raided the spot days after he filed the paperwork for it, the front for a South Philadelphia drug trafficking ring, distributing $3.5M in cocaine over a seven-year period — “a significant sized operation in any city,” Attorney General Tom Corbett said at the time.
The episode, and subsequent legal turmoil that held up the Drinkery’s opening by two years, marked one of the more outlandish entries in an ongoing series of obstacles and setbacks that Klein says he’s now ready to walk away from.
Born in Philly, Klein moved to California in 1994 on a pre-med scholarship to UC Berkeley. But it wasn’t for him, he said. He dropped out at the end of his sophomore year and came home, figuring he’d find a job in the service industry where he’d worked since his early teens.
“I grew up watching Cheers, and I legit wanted to be Sam Malone,” he explained. “I know it sounds super dorky, [but] I loved the idea of a neighborhood bar where everybody kind of knew everybody.”
Klein found work at Doc Watson’s (now Strangelove’s on 11th and St. James streets), alongside odd jobs like driving a cab and selling speakers out of the back of a van. Eventually, he landed a gig at Poor Henry’s, a Northern Liberties microbrewery where he climbed the ranks from server to assistant general manager in the three years it was open.
From there came lead bartender positions at Pod and Good Dog Tavern, and an opportunity for a partnership-turned-full-ownership at what would become The Dive.
Over the years, The Dive and Watkins Drinkery have grown popular with late night crowds as well as service industry employees and pool league members — there are tables at both bars. Microwaveable snacks at are offered at The Dive; Hot Pockets, popcorn, and a range of Chef Boyardee’s selections, but the bar also welcomes outside food. At Watkins, Klein keeps the kitchen open till 1 a.m. every night, with a menu that features Slovak fried cheese, a schnitzel sammie, and a ½ lb burger, alongside weekly rotations of grilled cheese sandwiches and specials like a recent roast pork cheesesteak.
There have been challenges throughout. Changes to state liquor laws in 2016 permitting beer distributors to sell singles and six-packs, and the increase in pop-up gardens and satellite licenses allowing breweries and distilleries to compete with neighborhood bars, have had a deleterious effect on his businesses, Klein said.
“I can’t fight those things,” Klein said. “They’re not going to go away. Are they bad for the city? Of course not — they’re generating tax revenue. Are they bad for me? Yeah.”
There have also been miscalculations. Opened in 2018, his third bar, the Wander Inn on 3rd and Porter, lasted less than two years and was “financially the biggest disaster I’ve ever had.”
Staffing has been a recurring issue. While most of Klein’s twelve employees have been with him for a while – some for a couple of years; two for over a decade – maintaining a motivated and consistent team has become more difficult since COVID.
It’s one of the ways the pandemic proved to be a turning point. Seeing how easy it was for his businesses to be forced out of operation, and struggling to pay mortgages on commercial properties he couldn’t profit from, he realized he was ready to get out of the industry.
Trying to keep busy during lockdown, Klein researched his Slovak roots as well as real estate in Europe, eventually taking out a home equity loan on his place in Philly for a property in Croatia. Once the bars are sold, he plans on splitting his time between Croatia and Slovakia, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living in Europe.
Klein believes it’s the right time for him to move on. The industry, he said, has changed, even down on the small neighborhood business level, where the competition is now more “cut-throat” than it had previously been.
“It used to feel like hey, we’re all in this together,” he said. “And now it feels like we’re all scrapping to survive — “I’m going to do whatever I need to do.” And that’s not why I got into this business.”
While he expects whoever buys The Dive will bring a major overhaul (“It doesn’t fit that neighborhood anymore”) Klein would like to see Watkins Drinkery “continue as something close to what it is now,” a cozy neighborhood spot characterized by its regulars and their interactions — the one thing he said he’ll miss from his years in the industry.
“A lot of people, I think, made connections that hopefully will last,” Klein said, “whether the bars do or not.”
Listings are now online for Watkins Drinkery and The Dive.
The Dive, 947 E Passyunk Ave. (cash only) | Watkins Drinkery, 1712 S. 10th Street | Both bars 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
