My Boy Tony Debuts in Former BookBar Space on Tennyson

My Boy Tony will be open daily. Adam Bove

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"We wanted to create a really beautiful drinking place," says Eli Cox. Since 2012, he's been the owner of the Berkeley Supply Company on Tennyson Street, which is how he became friends with BookBar owner Nicole Sullivan.

Shortly after Sullivan decided to close her combination bookstore and bar following a decade in business, Cox reached out to see if she had plans for the space. It was temporarily used by now-Mayor Mike Johnston as a campaign office this spring. But now, it's a bar once again.

Along with partners Mark Hansen and John Strieby, Cox has opened the newest neighborhood watering hole, My Boy Tony, at 4280 Tennyson Street. The goal, he says, was to create a place that "just has really good spirits, a good beer list and really good natural wines, but with a dive-bar mentality."

There will be no table service here; all orders will be placed at the bar, and the atmosphere is decidedly not pretentious — though the space has been "spruced up," Cox notes, adding that Strieby "handled a lot of the design build, including the millwork. This wouldn't be a thing without his incredible attention to detail."

click to enlarge

Much of the design work was done by partner John Strieby.

Adam Bove

The name is a nod to a longtime friend who recently passed away. "That was how I introduced him, 'My boy Tony,'" Cox says. "That's how everyone introduced him."

Offerings on the beer list include everything from Miller High Life to selections from local craft breweries like Our Mutual Friend. Cox is particularly excited about the wine list, which has both by-the-glass and bottle options. The cocktail program is straightforward, he adds, focusing on the classics.

"I'm friends with other bar owners on the street, and I don't want to be the wine bar, or the beer bar, or the mixology place," Cox says. "This is a good neighborhood drinking bar."

There's no kitchen on site, so food options will be limited to such items as olives, nuts, and bread with butter from nearby Bakery Four.

The layout is the same as it was at BookBar. "We didn't change any infrastructure," Cox notes. But in a major change, the books are gone — though this will still be be a casual place for people in the neighborhood to gather and imbibe.

My Boy Tony is the latest in a string of new bars that have opened or are coming soon, including Call Me Pearl at McGregor Square, the Wonderland-inspired Alice and Rose in Boulder, Pretty Neat on South Broadway and chef Caroline Glover's upcoming new Stanley Marketplace venture, Traveling Mercies. While the dining scene has gotten big headlines this year thanks to the arrival of the Michelin Guide, the city's bar scene is also thriving and poised for even more growth to come in 2024.

My Boy Tony is located at 4280 Tennyson Street and is open from 4 to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, follow it on Instagram @myboytonybar.