Ringing in New Year at Kevin Sousa's Arlington Beverage Club

I rang in the new year by visiting the past.

Chef Kevin Sousa hosted a party Dec. 31 at Arlington Beverage Club, a new bar in Allentown that’s actually an old church social hall.

St. George Lyceum was a place for the congregation to shoot some pool and the breeze while they sucked down a few Iron City Beers.

It’s a time capsule of 1970s décor, from the faux wood-paneled walls to the drop-ceiling that’s missing a few tiles. The top of the U-shaped bar is worn in places where elbows rubbed against it.

Sousa, owner of the sleek, sophisticated Superior Motors restaurant in Braddock, didn’t change a thing.

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Thank you to everyone who came out in the snow to celebrate the new year with us @abcpgh and @superiormotors15104! I was posted up in Allentown while @brianglittle @snacksimusaurelius @b.lin.yeo and squad broke records out in Braddock. We hit capacity on our sneak peek night with tons of people who walked from home and quite a few original members in attendance. Thanks to the Mayor of Pittsburgh @billpeduto for stopping in for a couple rounds! Also a huge thanks to @re_360 and big Ed for helping out with our technical difficulties.

A post shared by SOUSA (@sousapgh) on Jan 1, 2020 at 12:39pm PST

The New Year’s Eve celebration started at 7 p.m. As soon as I walked through the unmarked, metal door, I was hit with a familiar smell: my grandma’s house?

Dozens of crock pots were set up on folding tables. They bubbled with barbecue sauce and 20 pounds of Isaly’s Chipped Chopped Ham. Apparently, everyone’s grandma’s house smells like ham barbecue because it’s a comment I heard repeated throughout the night.

Patrons came in and inhaled deeply, breathing in the nostalgia.

Plus, the food was free, which always makes it taste better.

There were lots of libations for sale. Several local beers were available in bottles and cans (I opted for a Helltown Brown Ale) along with wine. Fun cocktails included the Neville Island Ice Tea — a Turner’s Iced Tea carton with an I.C. Light bottle sticking out of it. Folks also could get a Little Hug barrel spiked with tequila.

Plenty of people went with the Poke & Hope: Pay $2 and reach into a garbage can filled with ice water and cans of beer. You could either pull out a macro-dud or a nice craft brew.

There were plenty of non-alcoholic options available for designated drivers and holiday revelers who wanted to start Dry January a little early.

Once I had my beer, I ventured through the crowd – an equal mix of old and young, black and white – to the back of the establishment, where Ben Prysbila was rockin’ out on a ukulele. He played everything from Eddie Money to Miley Cyrus before The Beagle Brothers took the stage. DJ Paul Seif spinned in 2020.

At the end of the night, ABC closed its dented metal door. It won’t open to the public again until the spring. By then, the spot will boast a new kitchen where Sousa will whip up way-above-average bar food. He also wants to restore at least one of the four duckpin bowling lanes in the basement.

I know I’ll be back for a bite and a beer and to reconnect with the ghosts of Pittsburgh’s past.

Cheers, grandma!