There are few bars in Philadelphia that are as universally beloved as Dirty Frank’s. Located on the corner of 13th and Pine since 1933, it is a veritable Philadelphia institution. No-one understands that better than current co-owner Jody Sweitzer, who has worked at Frank’s since 1992 and owned it for the eight years. We talked to Jody about how she landed in Philadelphia, how the bar got its name, and why her bartenders are all women. We also had a chance to talk to some Dirty Franks regulars like Cheetah, one of the fastest bike messengers in town, Eric who first came to Dirty Frank’s while on acid, and Three Finger Bill, who has worked the door for over 20 years. It’s a great look at a historic bar renowned for its characters, and some of the characters themselves.
Sweitzer and her business partner Brad Pierce took it over in 2011, joining a storied lineage. They are only the 5th owners the spot has ever had, made more remarkable when you consider that it opened over 85 years ago. According to legend, it opened the month BEFORE Prohibition ended. That outlaw spirit lives on today. As Philly scribe Drew Lazor described so perfectly in a 2018 Vice article:
Even when Dirty Frank’s changes, Dirty Frank’s doesn’t. Stuck in its ways in the most reverential sense of the phrase, it’s a seam in time, providing safe passage to an older, odder Philadelphia. A gleaming oasis of weird in a town beset by 21st-century slickening, it’s always made people its primary business, no matter who those people are.
In truth, Frank’s has always had a “type,” but the profile was not built using banal criteria like sex, race, religion, education or income. It instead takes a shine to individuals who can’t be neatly filed into the natural order, and don’t wish to be—a “crossroads for errant individualists,” as the Philadelphia Inquirer put it in 1982. Curious conversationalists tend to do well.
Hope you’ll give it a listen. It’s an important part of Philly history, and Jody’s passion for the place is palpable. She is not someone who takes her job lightly. If you enjoy it, do us a major solid and give it 5 stars on itunes. If you want us to be in your debt forever, leave a positive review. Cheers!
