Given its proximity, Aspinwall has become a sort of home away from home for me. One short drive and bridge crossing takes me to my gym, supermarket, and T.J. Maxx/Marshalls, my preferred places for cheap skin and hair care, as well as middle-aged white lady dilly-dallying.
And yet, for all my visits over the last decade or so, I never once patronized Tavern In The Wall, a bar located in an eclectic little strip of businesses along Commercial Avenue. It sat amidst a miniatures shop (for all you dollhouse enthusiasts out there), a Caliente pizza location, a Bella Christie bakery, and an ice cream parlor.
Maybe it was the vinyl signage bearing its name in Comic Sans font — a common graphic design sin — or the access to other, more familiar nearby restaurants that prevented me from experiencing everything Tavern In The Wall had to offer. Either way, I missed my shot, as the bar and restaurant shut down in May 2025, after over a decade in operation…