April 27, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
McGlinchey's, the Center City dive bar that closed last summer, will be purchased by Philadelphia-based developer Alterra Property Group.
McGlinchey's, the decades-old dive bar that closed last summer in Center City, will soon change hands with a pending sale to developer Alterra Property Group.
A liquor license posted on the front door of McGlinchey's, at 259 S. 15th St., lists "The Great American Bar Scene LLC" as the applicant for the transfer. The LLC is registered to the address of Philadelphia-based Alterra Property Group, which owns a range of residential and mixed-used properties in Center City.
The name of the LLC, a reference to a song by singer-songwriter Zach Bryan, caught the attention of passersby over the weekend.
"If you know McGlinchey’s, you know it basically was the great American bar scene," PhillyChitChat's HughE Dillon wrote in an Instagram post. "Cash only, smoky, a little rough around the edges, and full of characters you couldn’t script if you tried."
Sheldon Sokol, the most recent owner of McGlinchey's, retired and gave the bar an emotional sendoff in August. He and his brother Ron, who died in 2022, had operated the bar for 40 years after their father died and gave them the keys to the business in 1985. The ground floor space originally operated as a restaurant in the 1930s, under its namesake Joseph A. McGlinchey, before transitioning into a bar in the 1950s.
The three-story property, which had bars on the first two floors, was listed for sale for $2.45 million in January.
Nadia Bilynsky, principal at MPN Realty, which is handling the deal, confirmed the pending sale of both the building and the liquor license to Alterra Property Group.
"There was a lot of interest in the property, whether it was local Philadelphia restaurant and bar groups, investors like Alterra and then groups that are outside of Philadelphia as well," Bilynsky said Monday morning. "... There were multiple offers and at the end of the day, this was the deal that the seller decided to go with."
The property, built in 1922, underwent renovations at various points during its life as a bar. McGlinchey's had been one of few bars in the city that permitted smoking. MPN expects the deal to close this summer. Bilynski said she's not aware of plans Alterra might have for renovations.
Alterra Property Group could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning. Leo Addimando, the developer's managing partner and co-founder, told the Inquirer he plans to keep the name McGlinchey's when the bar reopens.
The LLC's reference to Bryan is a nod to the singer's affection for McGlinchey's, which was among more than a dozen dive bars Bryan visited as part of a listening tour for the release of "The Great American Bar Scene" in 2024. Bryan grew up in Oklahoma and briefly lived in Fishtown a few years ago.
The song "28" directly calls out McGlinchey's with the verse, "When did McGlinchey’s get so crowded? And why are the crowds so damn green?"
