The Ale'N'Wich Pub
December 5, 1933 prohibition ends,
and not long after that Angie’s bar opens at the corner of Louis and
Hamilton Street in New Brunswick. Angie’s was a shot and a beer kinda
place, a typical local neighborhood watering hole. Most of the
customers were hunters and fishermen, which led to a Hunting and
Fishing Club using the bar for its regular meetings and social
gatherings. Although it was only a few blocks from College Ave,
students were discouraged from patronizing the bar by the owner and the
regulars.
This all changed on August 5, 1974, when Angie’s was reopened as The
Ale ‘N ‘Wich Pub. The game room was originally a kitchen, that’s where
the ‘Wich part comes from, it was converted in 1980. You can still see
the white tiles on the wall, where the grill used to be. The outdoor
Patio was fenced in around 1991. Many famous people have crossed our
threshold during the past 32 years. Jim Bajak, lead guitarist for The
Smithereens, who used to live right across the street, and hung out in
the bar on a regular basis with the rest of the band before and during
their rise to fame. There is the New Brunswick legend that Jerry Garcia
stopped in one night and sat at one of our old tables. That table is
still on the premises, in a safe and secure location. Various members
of the band Phish and their Phish groupies used to come by when they
played locally back in the 90’s. James Gandolfini, from the Sopranos
and his college buddy Mario Batali, the chef from The Food Network,
have stopped in a couple of times during the past few years. Gandolfini
lived in the Brookside apartments during college, so he was probably a
regular back then as well.
Various members of the infamous New Brunswick all star band The Salves
Of New Brunswick stop in now and then to soak up the vibe they are;
Jig’s from Jigs and The Pigs, Tony Shanahan the bass player in The
Patti Smith Band, and local rock legend singer, song writer, solo
artist and former member of Styx Glen Burtnik.
If you haven't been to the Wich in a while, you should stop by to see
all the great changes. We took down the nasty drop ceiling and restored
the original tin ceiling. New fans, new low level lighting fixtures
over the tables, new lighting over the foosball table. And out back,
well you have to see it to believe it. Were else is there a Pub in New
Brunswick, that doesn't serve food, that has a covered outdoor smoking
patio, where you can drink and smoke at the same time. Its still the
same Wich, with the friendliest staff, great beers on tap, discounted
specials every minute of every day we are open, and free WIFI &
pool till 8pm everyday.