This Newark bar named one of the best in the US. Everything to know before you go

The Deer Park Tavern, in operation since 1851, this week made national news: The Newark favorite was one of 27 included on the 2024 USA TODAY Bars of the Year list. The list was created by USA TODAY Network food writers nationwide and includes everything from humble dives to high-end cocktail bars.

Deer Park general manager Rob Dawson credits the Deer Park Tavern's enduring popularity partly because of its historical background.

"We've always been the last stop on Main Street, and we've watched the city grow around us," he said.

Customers frequently travel out of state and sometimes from other countries to view the centuries-old building. Liquor closets still have numbers on the doors when the building was a former hotel.

"We try to show Delaware's history on our walls," Dawson said. The staff also strives "to put the best food out," he said.

What makes the Deer Park stand out

Legend has it that poet Edgar Allan Poe visited the St. Patrick's Inn, now the current site of Newark's famous Deer Park Tavern, slipped in the mud, and put a curse on the building.

"A curse upon this place! All who enter shall have to return!" Poe supposedly said.

True story? Who knows, but it's a good tale, and a raven, a nod to Poe's poem, is part of the logo. Prints also associated with Poe's works now hang on walls.

These days, no one pays the Poe curse any mind. The landmark – popular with University of Delaware students and town locals – has become the best-known watering hole near campus for generations of UD students. It is the quintessential college bar experience. When school is in session, it's flooded with students.

Area residents also love tossing back a few cold ones in the Deer Park's downstairs side area known as the "townie bar."

"It's always nice to see all age ranges," Dawson said. "Locals usually come during the day and the kids are here at night."

Leonard Reed was a longtime owner before he sold the property in 2001 to the Ashby Hospitality Group, owners of four McGlynns Pub & Restaurants and Cantwell's Tavern in Odessa. Founders Bob and Sandy Ashby have said they always had great affection for the Deer Park – they met at the bar in 1974.

After buying the West Main Street landmark, the Ashbys soon began work on the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It took six months of extensive renovations to restore the building to how it looked in 1914, considered one of the Deer Park's golden ages. Their son Marc Ashby is now running operations.

The Deer Park has long been known for its nachos grande platters, French onion soup, discounted burgers, all-you-can-eat chicken wings and Thursday pitcher nights. Weekend brunches feature a large make-your-own Bloody Mary buffet and various styles of eggs Bennys.

Dawson said most of the food served, including the mozzarella, is made in-house. Hot fudge brownie sundaes are a favorite dessert.

The Deer Park has had its share of famous faces over the years. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow aired her program "The Rachel Maddow Show" live from the bar in October 2010. This was the political year when Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell ran for Delaware's open U.S. Senate seat against Democratic candidate (and current senator) Chris Coons. After O'Donnell had famously declared "I‘m not a witch" in TV ads, several Deer Park patrons wearing witch hats jokingly greeted Maddow in Newark.

While a character on the TV series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has worn a blue Deer Park T-shirt on the program, the bar celebrates its local connections. Memorabilia from the University of Delaware's national championship football teams and historical artifacts relating to the Deer Park throughout the years are on display throughout the two-story building.

"People may come to Newark, go through school, and leave, but they always come back," Dawson said, and not just because of Poe's supposed curse.

He said UD alumni and others return again and again because the Deer Park Tavern stays the same. "You can come back home."

Details: 108 W. Main St., Newark, Delaware; 302-369-9414, www.deerparktavern.com

Patricia Talorico writes about food and restaurants. You can find her on Instagram, X and Facebook. Email  [email protected]. Sign up for her  Delaware Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Deer Park Tavern in Newark named one of USA TODAY’s best bars of 2024