Demolition begins at Scotty’s Cigar & Martini Lounge property in east Erie
For more than two decades, Scotty’s Cigar & Martini Lounge on Erie’s east bayfront was a uniquely cool gathering spot.
Now it’s being dismantled —and a public gathering space will eventually take its place.
Demolition crews from K.C. Transportation Inc. of Waterford on Tuesday morning began tearing down the 4,576-square-foot brick building, 301 German St., which housed various liquor establishments since the 1920s and once operated as a Prohibition-era speakeasy.
Neighborhood redevelopment: Now permanently closed, Scotty’s Cigar & Martini Lounge in east Erie set for demolition
The Bayfront East Side Taskforce purchased the property from Scotty’s owner Scott Little for $120,000 in July 2020.
B.E.S.T. has decided to tear down the dilapidated structure and revamp the property as a neighborhood park and green space.
The demolition work is expected to cost less than $20,000 and be completed within by the end of the week, said Jeremy Bloeser, B.E.S.T's executive director.
"We'll have grass down sometime this summer on the site," Bloeser said, "and then we'll meet with the neighbors to talk about what other kinds of amenities they'd like to see."
Scotty's shuttered in wake of pandemic
Little told the Erie Times-News in a a recent interview that he closed Scotty’s permanently in July 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. He began operating the bar in January 1999.
The business was a popular local gathering spot where patrons could hear live jazz from local musicians, sample signature martinis and other cocktails, and smoke fine cigars.
Widespread lockdowns and stay-at-home orders had already forced Scotty’s to shut down, he said. Further, the building needed extensive repairs, including a new roof.
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"There was so much uncertainty about COVID and no one knew how long we would be shut down," said Little, 67. "I also knew the building needed a lot of work.
"When you’re going into a building every day with no ability to work and bills are coming in, that’s kind of a helpless feeling," said Little, who supports B.E.S.T.'s demolition/park plans. "So I decided to see if I could go ahead and cash out."
Bloeser said renovating the building would be too costly. So the nonprofit decided to tear it down and create a new neighborhood green space.
Joe Koehle, 64, stood across the street with Bloeser on Tuesday morning as the building was being demolished.
Koehle, who lives in the 200 block of East Second Street, is a member of B.E.S.T.'s board of directors and has been active with the East Bayfront Neighborhood Watch for decades.
Before Little purchased the property, it operated as O'Brien's, a tavern that was the subject of frequent police attention for drug dealing, disorderly conduct and other activity. An Erie man was also shot and killed in the tavern's vestibule in October 1997.
"I was a patron after Scotty (Little) took it over. Before that it was a nuisance bar and there were a lot of problems on this block," Koehle said. "And then Scotty came in, and it (became) a nice hangout. It was good for the neighborhood and I made a lot of friends there."
Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Demolition underway at Scotty’s Cigar & Martini Lounge in east Erie
