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Boot & Saddle’s Revival Kicks Up Some Dust on South Broad

Boot and Saddle's iconic sign.
Boot and Saddle’s iconic sign.

To the casual onlooker, news of Avram Hornik’s intention to bring forever-vacant Boot and Saddle back to life seemed like it would widely be accepted as something good. Not so, according to today’s Metro. Sadly, the bar started looking back on its better days when the U.S. Navy began winding things down at the Navy Yard back in the early ‘90s. Despite efforts made by the Dead Milkmen’s Rodney Anonymous amongst others to draw rock audiences through booking bands there in the years that followed, Boot and Saddle was closed for good in 1996. Since then most have viewed the abandoned honky tonk as one big, blighted eyesore holding back a once bustling commercial strip. Still members of the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association are opposed to its revival, out of fears that Hornik will bring the party-til-you-puke vibe of his Drinkers bars along for the ride.

Boot and Saddle’s iconic sign.

The neighborhood association would prefer to see something else. A “nice restaurant” was one of the ideas it floated. With nearby Tritone set to close in the near future, a live music venue with a loyal crowd would seemingly be a good fix for the block, and conceivably inspire other restaurateurs to invest in the neighborhood. Remeber, this is the same block where Stephen Starr passed on the Broad Street Diner. Nonetheless, the group is filing a petition to block the transfer of a liquor license. And if that doesn’t work, they will try to attach restrictions to its Conditional Licensing Agreement.

Boot & Saddle: Big shoes to fill for bar’s new owner [Metro]

Boot & Saddle’s Revival Kicks Up Some Dust on South Broad