Charlie B's

History

The unmarked bar on the ground floor of the old Belmont Hotel was a workingman’s room called Eddie’s Club in the 1960s, where bartender and photographer Lee Nye, from 1965 to 1973, made the black-and-white portraits that still cover the walls. In the 1980s the bar became Charlie B’s, named for owner Charlie, who commissioned Nye for a second series of pictures. Regulars describe an old-school room with a radio instead of a jukebox, free Sunday chili, and Cajun food in back. Esquire has repeatedly ranked it among the country’s best bars.