Dick’s Dive will be your new favorite hole-in-the-wall bar

Columbus has plenty to offer for fans of smoked cocktails and rooftop views, but today, I’ve got something for the mediocre brown liquor and dive bar enthusiasts. Dick’s Dive is now open directly below Zeno’s at 384 W. Third Ave., serving “beers your dad would drink” in the perfect basement bar atmosphere.

Dick’s Dive is a tribute to Owner Quinn Allen’s late father and local business legend Dick Allen. He is immortalized through family photos that line the walls of the dive, neon signs that once hung in the family basement and garage, and through the “Dick Allen,” the bar’s signature beverage made of Double Paramount run, soda, and a splash of sugar-free Red Bull.

The bar is furnished with a shuffleboard table, a Touch Tunes machine, a soft leather sofa, a few TVs that will show football games, and several wooden round tables that look to have been scored at an old estate sale. Allen opted for round tables as opposed to smaller two-tops or long bench-style seating to encourage intermingling between small groups of bar-goers.

“We expect the crowd to be as mismatched as the furniture,” Allen said.

The black and white checkered floors are scuffed from years of fun when the basement was used as a private events space, and though newly-renovated, the corner bar has a built in authenticity—I’m sure it could tell a story or two.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The ceilings hang low and the lights are even lower, creating the perfect windowless well to forget your problem and the time.

Typically, it requires a great deal of time for a new bar to be dubbed a “dive,” but Dick’s is different. Through its colorful history, storied decor, and organic hole-in-the-wall vibe, I can confidently lump it in with my favorite dives around the city like Meister’s, Mike’s Grill, and Byrne’s Pub.

Cheers, Columbus, we can now drink cheap beer in a basement and not have to hide it from our parents.

The bar is open from 6pm- 2am. Tuesday through Friday, times vary Saturdays based on Buckeye kickoff, and Sunday from 11am- 2am.

In case you haven’t already painted a picture in your mind, take a virtual stroll through Dick’s Dive with our 360° photos below.

Note: use the left/right arrows in the upper-left corner to navigate between images.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY