The Joint

Costello's is the family corner bar built by my paternal grandfather, Joseph Costello, and his sons Joe Jr., Bill, Jack, and Tom. It sits at the corner of Aurelius and Myrtle Aves and was run form many years by Gramp and Granny (Clara) before turning the place over to Joe Jr. His daughter Patty runs it with her husband EJ (Glanville) today. For many years we spent Christmas day down at "the joint," as Dad referred to it, after having opened presents at home that morning. They'd close for the day for all except family, and we'd have dinner sitting in the wooden booths along the west wall or at the tables lined up down the middle of the barroom. At some point while visiting with our many cousins "Santa" would make a surprise appearance, coming in through the kitchen.
The earliest pop song that I remember clearly I first heard at Costello's, playing on the jukebox in the corner: Perry Como singing "Hot Diggity" - a big hit in 1956. I suspect many of those 50s hits lingered on the jukebox into the early 60s.

In later years Dad would meet his brothers, Tom and Bill, at the joint on Tuesdays for lunch and to shoot the breeze. For a few years Dad would treat his daughters, alternating with his sons-in-law, to lunch on Saturdays.