Alex's Tavern customers celebrate bartender's wit, caring
“Whaddaya say, my friend?” is how smiling Sonny Wilson often would greet customers at the tavern where he spent more than 40 years serving beers, burgers and homespun humor.
You can find “World Famous Sonnyisms” painted on the walls of Alex’s Tavern at 1445 Jackson Ave., a neighborhood watering hole known for an inspired jukebox selection, delectable “Greek burgers” and the diminutive bartender named Sonny.
Using a mixture of Southern colloquialisms, bar slang and a magnificent sense of humor, Sonny became the resident philosopher at Alex’s in the tradition of Yogi Berra.
“I don’t like yo’ atmosphere,” is how Sonny might respond to inappropriate barroom behavior. Sonny must have stated, “we ain’t got no menu” more than 100,000 times, one of the many “Sonnyisms” you’ll find enshrined on the walls of the menu-less restaurant.
