Svend E.
Yelp
This is the friendliest dive bar I've ever been in. The atmosphere is something like Cheers meets 'The Piano Man' meets Charles Bukowski. The owner/bartender looks as if he should be rough and caustic, but he's one of the nicest bartenders I've ever met. The regulars are very welcoming, albeit through their simultaneously prickly and fuzzy repartee of sarcasm, irony, sincerity, endearment, and compliment.
There is definitely an air of dissipation to the place, and a peculiar, mildly unpleasant odor not uncommon to dive bars, something like a mixture of stale alcohol and cleaning solution, as if the floor was last cleaned weeks ago, or tends to be cleaned up haphazardly. While normally these would be a minus, in this context they become a plus. The drinks are very cheap (generally $3-4 beer, $3-5 liquor), the jukebox is great. Also: a good place to watch sports (not that I do so much myself); they'll basically turn on any sport you want to watch.
This place doesn't need to change anything. That being said-- the bartender mentioned that they have gradually lost business to the chi-chi bars along Cortelyou, and I don't know how they stand to regain it unless they change *something.* Maybe all this needs to be is advertising. So, in that spirit: Go check them out, buy a few drinks. If you like dive bars, doubt you'll be disappointed.