Memories of The Old Pink return for woman engaged there

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Cleanup continues at The Old Pink, a legendary dive bar demolished after a fire gutted the building early Monday morning. Amidst the rubble, decades of priceless memories came back for the regulars of this Allentown meeting.

A yellow excavator spent Tuesday afternoon clearing the burned ruins of the legendary institution.

A candlelight vigil Monday evening drew hundreds of people to Allen and Mariner streets for a final farewell to a place known for its music, its people and its steak sandwiches.

Among the scattered green and purple bricks, a wedding photo was placed against a can of beer.

“I was out with friends and I really wanted to go home,” Amanda Polino said. “I think it was 2 or 3 a.m. and my friends Nicole and Ann were begging me to stay outside. So our last stop was The Old Pink.

It was at 223 Allen St., during the summer of 2008, that Polino was introduced to her future husband Bobby. The two clicked and nine months later, a new chapter of their lives began on their old stomping ground.

“He blindfolded me, he said he was taking me to a special place, and I opened my eyes and saw The Pink,” Polino said. “And we walked in and he had flowers there, a bottle of champagne – he got down on one knee.”

On their wedding day, the couple took a photo in front of the iconic green flames where it all began.

Polino is grateful, like so many others, for this place that brought together people from all walks of life.

And a brick she retrieved from the rubble will always serve as a reminder.

“The spirit of The Pink will always live on,” Polino said. “It will always live on for everyone who was a part of it – everyone in Buffalo. I’m happy to be part of it.