Our Story

The Early Days

Long before Nip's Park Ave Saloon became a neighborhood staple, the property lived a few different lives. In the early 1950s, it sat vacant before becoming a small used car lot. By the late 1950s, Helen Borne gave the space new purpose, building a laundromat with an attached two-car car wash — a place where locals stopped as part of their everyday routine.

A turning point occurred when Helen's son, Ross Borne, reimagined the building as The Game Room, a classic cocktail lounge of its time. Drinks were poured, stories were shared, and while there was no cooked food, cold sandwiches kept patrons company late into the evening.

The Birth of Nip's

In 1973, Ephrain Bernstein purchased the property and gave it the name Nip's Park Ave Saloon. It remained a cocktail lounge, with food still kept simple — frozen "Stewart Sandwiches" warmed in a small light-bulb oven, not unlike an Easy-Bake. It wasn’t fancy, but it fit the era.

The Wing Era Begins

Everything changed in 1977 when Kenneth Willerton bought Nip's and built a kitchen. With a small charbroil grill and a tabletop fryer, cooked food finally arrived — including wings. Limited by fryer space, wings were served by the half dozen and offered in just two flavors: hot and medium. The recipe was rooted in the original Buffalo-style wings from Buffalo, New York, setting the foundation for what Nip's would one day become known for.

The Modern Era

In 2010, Mike Scott took over Nip's and ushered in the next chapter. The building was remodeled inside and out, the kitchen expanded, and the menu grew alongside it. What started with two wing flavors has grown into 42 and counting, while the spirit of the bar — and its Buffalo wing roots — remains unchanged.

For decades, Nip's has been a place where history, flavor, and community come together — one wing at a time.