By Kate Bartlett
Mulligan’s Bick Bar on Allen Street in Buffalo will always be remembered as a unique, classic Allentown dive bar with a strong community. Recently, the bar was tragically lost in a fire, deemed completely unsalvageable. It was a great loss to the Buffalo community, and the bar also has strong ties to the Ellicottville region.
Many Ellicottville connections can be made to Mulligan’s, especially that of Michael Militello, Kevin and Ben Kell. Upon returning home from Vietnam in 1969, Kevin and Michael decided to buy Mulligan’s bar from the Briandi family. “I was in Business School at the University of Buffalo, looking to see what to do next,” recalls Mike. “We’d always enjoyed entertaining and decided to make it happen.” Ben joined the team when he returned home from serving in the Marines in March 1968 on St Patrick’s Day.
Mulligan’s opened in January 1970, 55 years ago. Kevin and Michael hired bartenders from all over the Buffalo area. “We built a great depth of talent in our bartenders,” recalls Michael. “We hired people from all over the area, not realizing this was the key to success. We had bartenders from North Buffalo, South Buffalo and the West Side. We had hippies, college students, ironworkers and Native Americans as our patrons. It was an eclectic group of people and it was great.”
St. Patrick’s Day was Mulligan’s first major celebration, and the bar had a line wrapped around the block for the entire day. “We made t-shirts for the occasion that read Allentown USA,” recalls Michael. “We had a line to get in 7-days a week for several years after; Mondays were our most popular night as we hosted a bartenders and bar owners’ night.”
Kevin & Michael went on to open Mulligan’s Café and Nightclub on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo, and Mulligan’s Sunset Bay Beach Club in Irving on the shores of Lake Erie. “The 70’s were an interesting time in Buffalo,” recalls Michael. “We’re proud to have created a safe space where people could gather together and have a good time.”
Kevin, Michael and Ben spent a great deal of time in Ellicottville. “Kevin had a passion for Ellicottville,” recalls Michael. “We made friends with the Pitillo family, who welcomed us to the area with open arms. Michael & Joan Pitillo made us feel like family. Today we still consider the Pitillos our family and we are very proud of the success of their youngest Nick.” They discovered Poverty Hill Ski Resort in the 70’s thanks to Mike Pitillo and absolutely fell in love with the property. “We acquired Poverty Hill in 1972 and has been home to the Kell family ever since. Ellicottville gave us a home away from the craziness of our growing bar & restaurant business. We enjoyed bringing the Buffalo Bills and Sabres to the Ellicottville area over the years. We are so incredibly grateful for the support from the Ellicottville area throughout the years,” says Michael. “We’re thankful to the entire town of Ellicottville.”
Kevin Kell and Mike Militello, (Ben Kell is behind
Mike’s head) celebrating 1975 anniversary party in
custom t-shirts with tuxedos
Former Ellicottville resident Scott O’Connor worked at Mulligan’s as a daytime bartender for 5 years, between 2005-2010. Scott also worked at Madigan’s (owned by Kevin & Grace Kell along with their sons Connor and Shane) in Ellicottville as a bartender and bouncer, and has many ties to the area.
He describes Mulligan’s as a classic Allentown dive bar. “It was a great group of people,” recalls Scott. “We were a tight-knit group of co-workers who’d do anything for each other. Our bar regulars were like family too; we were a like-minded group of people who enjoyed hanging out in a no frills, laid-back atmosphere.”
The Mulligan’s fire on January 5 follows in the shadows of another great loss to the Allentown community: The Old Pink, which was located next-door to Mulligan’s and was also lost to a fire in June 2024. “The loss of these bars is devastating to the community,” remarks Scott. “They were the two best dive bars ever with a great community of people. Sadly, there’s nowhere for these people to go now. There’s just nowhere like Mulligan’s or The Old Pink.”
Scott recalls many memorable times at Mulligan’s, many of which he comments “are hard to put into words. It was such a unique place; there’s nowhere quite like Allentown.” He remembers the annual day-long St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with pipers and authentic Irishmen stumbling into the bar after the parade. “The bar was filled to the max by 12:30 in the afternoon,” recalls Scott. “We were packed until 4am each and every year.”
Nietzsche’s, a nearby Allentown bar, held a two-day fundraising event in January to support the displaced Mulligan’s employees. The event, called Concert for a Cause, featured live music, gift card raffles and memories shared by the community. “These events were the real deal,” says Scott. “It was great to bring everyone together one last time, and raise funds. The power of this community is incredible.”
Mulligan’s was also on site at the Buffalo Auto Show this past weekend, February 1, for an appreciation night. Guests had the opportunity to meet bar owners and secure a brick from the bar for a small donation to charity. “The event coordinators of The Buffalo Auto Show reached out and wanted to show their support for Mulligan’s” explains Michael. “We saw the public’s interest in bricks from the bar, so we decided to run an organized event signing the bricks. “We signed over a hundred bricks that night sales of which are donated to Ronald McDonald house. “It was an incredible evening. It was great to get the group together after all these years.”
The loss of Mulligan’s and The Old Pink were devastating to the Allentown community, but may serve as a reminder to patron your favorite neighborhood establishment. Find your place, find your people and support them, and appreciate the simple moments.