Bottle & Cork - Dewey Beach, DE

Billed as “The Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll bar in the World”, the Bottle &Cork in Dewey Beach, Delaware has many of the elements and characteristics that lead credibility to this claim. It has live music, with people packed wall to wall avoiding beer spills on the floor as they get their groove on. It has the appropriate décor with faded concert posters adorning the walls that add to the musty environment, and the fact that they only serve can beer and no top-shelf liquor only add to it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll image. As it was once said, “you only go to the Cork to drink and listen to music.”

It has been open for seventy years and seen it’s share of stellar shows and musicians grace it’s stage, all of which give it the credentials to lay stake to that claim. But and this is the big but, that throws the big but monkey wrench in the mix, it is a seasonal place, open only from May to October with only 100 shows per year, and unlike other seasonal summer venues, it is not a one of the big outdoor sheds that attract the big tours and acts throughout the summer. The Bottle &Cork is an average size venue (right around 1000 people capacity), located in the summer vacation spot of Dewey Beach, Delaware on the southern edge of town, right up the road from the much larger Ocean City, MD. The size and location impact the quality of acts that get to play the self proclaimed “Greatest Bar”.

Opened in 1936 by Harry and Ginger Shaud who bought the beach landmark spot formerly know as Jack’s Store or Jack’s Café, they renovated it and reopened it under the new name Bottle &Cork. During the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s it began to flourish as a live music venue with such groups as The Dave Matthews Band, Robert Palmer, Buddy Guy, Little Feat, Rusted Root, and Greg Allman making their way through the Cork’s doors.

Today because of it’s location and the fact that many bands choose to skip it as a stop on their tour in favor of larger cities or play in nearby Atlantic City at the suddenly hot spot Borgata, the Bottle &Cork does not get the caliber of shows it once did. It now is best served as a spot for a smaller band to play a larger venue or for more established acts to get a chance to play in a more intimate setting than they are accustomed to. Despite this the Cork still has a couple of shows a year that turn into classic gems. This summers most talked about show was a two-night run that saw Robert Randolph and the Family Band tear up the place with the help of Philadelphia native G. Love who sat in for much of the show. G. Love was just getting an early start, as he played a solo show the following night that kept the crowd at the Cork sizzling.

The charm of the Bottle &Cork though is in its eccentricities not necessarily it the star power of the band it gets. The beer served only in cans, waiting outside after the show to get a ticket stub for a memento of the night that sees the stubs scattered across a table in a free fall to grab one, the puddles of beer, the open roof to the left of the stage over the merch table and bar, the back area far removed from the stage with pool tables, shows in the summer on a hot sweltering night that find half the crowd seemingly content to gather in the cooler back and play pool while the other half sweat it out up front by the stage.

Until this year there were many other quirks that went into the personality of the place. The poor air conditioning that reduced the place to a sweat box on some nights, the poor sight lines caused by a low roof, and the many support poles that dotted the landscape obstructing the view of many a showgoer – causing a mad dash to secure a good spot on the floor much as people use to do at the old Wetlands Preserve in New York City, are just a few of the many quirks and eccentricities that are found at this old beach spot.

In this the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Bottle &Cork, many improvements have been made to rectify some of these eccentricities. The roof has been raised four feet, the offending support poles have been moved, and two brand new large capacity air-conditioning units have been installed. Sometimes improvements take away from the personality and charm of the place, turning it into another sterile boring environment in which to watch shows. Proclaiming “World’ Greatest”, doesn’t always mean “World’s Nicest”, and when it comes to dives I don’t know of many places that can top the Cork…here’s hoping that all these changes do not end up doing that.