If you’ve lived in Philly for a minute, you’ve come to realize the wealth of dive bars that we possess in this fine town of ours. South Philly has a good but shrinking selection, with luminaries such as Ray’s and Bonnie’s Capistrano Bar heading a group of dimly lit, often smoky watering holes where you can probably get good and toasty for less than fifteen bucks. But we don’t know that we’ve yet encountered a divier locale than the Dolphin Tavern, located at Broad & Tasker.

The bar

Unfortunately, this landmark, which featured ladies in pasties as well as billiards, closed its doors back in August. Last month, Passyunk Post reported that Avram Hornik, of Lucy’s, Drinker’s, Noche, etc. had entered into an agreement to take over the Dolphin, and was planning to reopen the bar on December 1st. Nearly three weeks later, the bar remains shuttered as far as we know.

Closer look at the front

You may remember, we told you over a year ago that Mr. Hornik would likewise be taking over the Boot & Saddle Bar, another South Broad Street establishment with a long history and a memorable neon sign. To this point, that bar is also still closed, but hopefully progressing toward opening its doors in the coming months.

Hopefully, both bars will be welcoming customers again in the very near future, serving long term neighbors and irony-seeking hipsters alike. And if we’re really lucky, maybe some of this development will lead to additional redevelopment on South Broad.

If we may recommend Meglio Furs as the next logical candidate?

Meglio Bar & Grille? Meglio Cafe? Meglio Deli? Meglio Hardware? Meglio Salon and Spa? Anything.