<\/p>\n
A large crowd is gathered inside the Washington Tavern in Albany around 2 a.m. on May 10. Friday marked the 18-month point for the revived business.<\/p>\n
Provided by Ben Levack\/Washington Tavern <\/p>\n
Washington Tavern, at 250 Western Ave. in Albany, reopened on Nov. 15, 2024. A beloved watering hole for almost 50 years before being sold in 2018 by founder Michael Byron, the bar under his successor never caught on. A new team of owners has rebuilt the business, with the blessing of Byron.<\/p>\n
Provided by Ben Levack\/Washington Tavern<\/p>\n
In a screengrab from security video, a crowd lines up at the Washington Tavern in Albany early on May 10.<\/p>\n
Provided by Ben Levack\/Washington Tavern <\/p>\n
ALBANY\u00a0\u2014 By the time the last patron left the Washington Tavern around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the bar had rung up more than 500 transactions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday was quite the night, for sure,\u201d said Ben Levack, the bar\u2019s managing partner and operational leader of the team determined to restore the popularity and reputation of what for decades was the city\u2019s most beloved watering hole for the college crowd.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
With the University at Albany\u2019s graduation happening this weekend, this was the academic year\u2019s final T\u2019s Tuesday, a past promotion that patrons urged Levack to bring back when WT\u2019s, as it\u2019s long been known by many, was being readied to reopen in November 2024. Friday\u00a0\u2014 May 15\u00a0\u2014 marked the 18-month point for the revived business. And while the crush of late-night patrons in recent months seems to point toward success, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m just getting started,\u201d Levack said.<\/p>\n
Sales are up 70% from this time last year, according to Levack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m of course happy with the growth, but I believe that the place still has the potential to grow further,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Such as during the first five hours of the WT\u2019s day after the 5 p.m. opening, during which it continues to be comparatively slow. As one of the handful of bars in the city with a 4 a.m. closing time, the tavern throngs in the wee hours; some staff members don\u2019t even start their shifts until 10 p.m. With Wolff\u2019s Biergarten and Lionheart on the Green, the big warehouse-district bars popular with the younger crowd, required by the city to close at 2 a.m., their patrons who wish to continue carousing head to Pine Hills.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t hit an inflection point until about six months ago,\u201d said co-owner Justin Schmiemann. He and business partner John \u201cJay\u201d Corallo run J&J Investment Properties, which owns apartment housing with more than 400 tenants across 50-plus buildings, virtually all in the area of the downtown UAlbany campus and the now-shuttered College of Saint Rose. The pair bought and renovated the Washington Tavern building and have an equal stake in the business with Levack but leave management to him, a former corporate trainer for Marriott hotels.<\/p>\n The three owners knew restoring the luster of the business, in a building that has been home to taverns since the 1880s, meant luring back the present-day equivalent of the pre-2018 customer base, who had allegiance to Michael Byron, the owner for 47 years, but not to the bar as it foundered under Byron\u2019s immediate successors during and after the pandemic.<\/p>\n The first few months in business for Washington Tavern 3.0, in late 2024 and January of last year, showed promise, but a much-covered violent incident imperiled the business. In February 2025, a man fought with patrons before threatening them with a gun; he pleaded guilty<\/a> and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt happened, we accepted responsibility, and we made adjustments,\u201d Levack said. The bar employs four security guards every Friday and Saturday and as many as six when popular DJs perform. With a maximum occupancy of 175, \u201cI could probably get away with two or three\u201d security staffers, Levack said, \u201cbut we are going to keep our patrons safe and our community safe.\u201d Customers now receive pat-downs and guards use metal-detecting wands and search bags. When a man carrying a knife was stopped at the door in March, he fled and was arrested<\/a>.<\/p>\n Referring to his student patrons, Levack said, \u201cWe have a duty to protect them \u2026 while they find their way in the world. You just can\u2019t put a price on anybody\u2019s safety. We\u2019ve been very vocal about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Customers obviously believe the tavern to be a safe place, and there are enough of them that it has become the top bar in the Capital Region in terms of sales of\u00a0Pabst Blue Ribbon, available for $2 for a full pint on T\u2019s Tuesday. According to Levack, his PBR rep, a former WT\u2019s employee named Tom Carroll, who is senior district sales manager for Pabst, said the bar is now on the sales leaderboard nationally for the brand.<\/p>\n While collegians who live locally and attend school elsewhere will return soon or already have, helping to offset the loss from UAlbany students\u2019 departure, Levack and Schmiemann said they expect the summer to be slower, and the bar will adjust with promotions to try to attract more customers for happy hour and dinner. And Levack plans to open midday on Sundays when football season starts.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundation is there,\u201d Levack said. \u201cNow we grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Located at 250 Western Ave.,\u00a0the Washington Tavern<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 aka WT\u2019s, aka the WT, aka the Tavern\u00a0\u2014 is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday to Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n