Pop A Top

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  A dive bar does not get more divey than this.   A dive in its purest form, not even the most hard-core hipsters would go here trying to be ironic!  
  
  Pop A Top is located in a remote semi-wooded area in extreme northern St. Joseph, far-removed from any other bars or restaurants.  It is part of a tiny cluster of brick buildings surrounded by gravel lots of old or rusting industrial equipment, buses, trucks, and other vehicles.  Aging mobile homes making up most of the remainder of the surroundings.
  
  It was originally a bank, but was converted to a bar in the 1950s and operated as Family Tavern for about 30 years.   Family Tavern closed after the owner died, but later Pop A Top re-opened the space.
  
  There's no taps, so we got a couple of cans of beer.  Either there was no air conditioning or it wasn't working.  A pair of noisy and powerful fans were employed to attempt to ventilate the place.   Despite the fans, with it being 100 degrees outside, it took only a few minutes for our beer to warm up to room temperature.  :(
  
  It was quite a bit darker in there than my pictures (taken with a high exposure setting) let on.  There appeared to be a back room that looked big enough for pool tables, but the lights were out and we could not really see for sure without risking tripping over fans. :)  I'm going to assume that there was indeed at least one pool table.  (Update:  A later visit revealed a nice looking back room with a pool table in the center of it.)
  
  As rickety and run-down as the building is, the woodwork of the bar itself is beautiful.
  
  I started to give this bar 2 stars due to the heat getting my beer warm so fast, but I decided that the weather isn't their fault.   Besides, the bartender was pretty nice to us.   (Update:  It was still hot inside on a second visit in September, but we went in the early evening so it wasn't as bad.   The bartender was the same pleasant woman who served us in July.   There were a few more customers in there his time.)

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  Posted on 07.22.11 Scott M.

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