On weekend nights, a steady stream of cars descends on MacDade Boulevard near Bullen's Lane and turns into the Brownie's Pub parking lot.
The Woodlyn Shopping Center lot in Ridley Township fills quickly. Some cars are parked across the street in another lot.
A line of smartly dressed twenty-somethings snakes outside Brownie's, driver's licenses in hand.
So what is the attraction of Brownie's Pub?
Regulars say it's a meeting place. A local band promoter says the owners are astute businessmen.
Sue Edwards of Ridley Township had her own reason. "Because they sell beer," she said, as she sat at one of Brownie's four indoor bars on a recent Saturday night.
On most nights, the dimly lighted, wood-paneled rooms are packed with people. The music blares, making conversation hard. The uneven tiled dance floor is packed with dancers, and cigarette smoke gives the room a soft haze.
Five years ago, four friends - Bill Daley, Mike Brown, Mike Gallen and Ralph LaMarra - decided to open a bar. Brownie's is what they created.
At a time when many other clubs were closing or simply holding their own, Brownie's has expanded each of the last five years and now can hold about 800 people.
Brownie's took over space when the neighboring stores in the shopping center relocated or closed. A 1,800-foot wooden deck was added in the back of the club during the summer.
Asked about the bar's success, LaMarra cites the promotions Brownie's has held - bikini contests, Velcro jumping and bear wrestling.
The bear wrestling, LaMarra said, proved to be controversial. The club received a lot of publicity, some bad. On bear night, many animal-rights activists protested loudly outside, LaMarra said.
Whether it is the bears, bikinis, bands or beers, people are showing up at Brownie's in droves.
On the night before Thanksgiving, the busiest club night of the year, more than a hundred people were lined up waiting to get into the already-packed club.
"The people that work there is one of the reasons that Brownie's is a success," said Stu Green, a promoter and booking agent with Midnight Sun Management in Swarthmore.
The owners "are good operators," he said. "They know how to run a tavern. . . . Brownie's has the right atmosphere and the right attitude."
On the local band circuit, Brownie's is at the top, Green said. His company handles bands that play Brownie's such as Bricklin, Rock & Roll Circus and Strange as Angels.
