The B & B Tap: It Was That Kind of Place

One of the lead stories in yesterday’s Oshkosh Northwestern was about O'Brian's, the tavern at 686 N. Main that last year won the subtitle “Oshkosh’s most troubled bar.” Apparently, O'Brian's has begun cleaning up their act, but if you look at the comments section for the web edition of the story, you’ll see that there are still a number of Northwestern readers who’d like to see the place shuttered. The comment that caught my eye was this one: “Ever since the B&B went under, the place has changed hands pretty regularly and each one was as bad as the last.” Oh yes, the beloved B & B Tap. Let’s take a look back and see just what kind of place it was.

The B & B Tap operated from 1963 until 1999, but the advertisement above captures the spirit of the bar during its heyday. This is from April 15, 1976 as it appeared in the UWO student paper, the Oshkosh Advance-Titan. The central image is a good representation of what the bar was all about at that time. According to Jim Grill, who frequented the bar during this period, The B & B Tap was a “No frills scruffy kind of bar. The musicians and hipsters and cab drivers all hung out there. It was that kind of place.” Jim says that “In those days there were two places you went, either the college strip or downtown where the music was more hip.” He says the B & B “was known for it’s cheap beer, loud music, steamed wieners and pickled turkey gizzards. It was a Rock & Roll bar. A peanuts on the floor sort of place.” 

After the B & B went out in 1999 it was replaced by Slammers, which begat the Frat House, which begat O'Brian's. Sadly, the days of steamed wieners and pickled turkey gizzards are no more.

Thanks to fellow Oshkosh Blogger Jim Grill for digging up the 1976 B & B ad. Jim operates the excellent blog OKJIMM'S EGGROLL EMPORIUM. It, too, is “that kind of place.”