In Old City, two Tuns toast to the Marines’ 250th anniversary with lagers and a lawsuit
Two different efforts are dueling it out to re-create the historic tavern in Old City where the Marines were founded in 1775. On Monday, they both held events marking the anniversary.
Anyone trying to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps on Monday in Old City could be forgiven for a bit of confusion on where, exactly, to celebrate.
The Marines, famously, were established at the Tun Tavern in 1775, a brewery and watering hole that once sat, roughly, where the southbound lanes of I-95 are now.
Over the centuries, historical preservationists, military buffs, and Marines themselves have repeatedly attempted to rebuild the historic drinking spot, which burned down in 1781. All those efforts failed.
But this year, Tun enthusiasts have two competing restoration campaigns to choose from.
One is funded by a nonprofit that has raised $10 million to build a historically accurate recreation of the bar, complete with a museum. Construction is expected to begin soon at the site, in a parking lot on Second Street between Chestnut and Market.
Just around the corner, an Atlantic City bar owner and Marine veteran — who owns the trademark for the name Tun Tavern — has taken over a former Mexican restaurant at 207 Chestnut Street, pledging his own historical reproduction.
On Monday, both held 250th anniversary celebrations, separated by about 400 feet and an increasingly acrimonious trademark lawsuit.
Several thousand Marines and their families converged on the parking lot owned by the nonprofit, trademarked as the Tun Legacy Foundation. It has pledged all of its profits to veterans’ causes and scholarships and other charities including the Freemasons, which also held meetings at the Tun.
Around the corner, a few hundred attendees at a more modest but no less spirited affair drank draft beer from plastic cups at the former Lucha Cartel. Revolutionary reenactors relaxed with Miller Lite cans.
Tun Tavern owner Montgomery Dahm, who has owned a bar with the same name in Atlantic City since 1998, says he will soon redecorate with more Colonial-era vibes. Dahm said he is also giving some profits to veterans’ organizations — and the Freemasons, too.
The two have been battling in court for over a year, ever since the Tun Legacy Foundation declined to pay what they say was an exorbitant trademarking fee, and Dahm sued the group in federal court, seeking to prevent their use of the name Tun. That case is still pending.
In September, Dahm announced that he was buying Lucha Cartel, with plans to eventually convert it into a living museum, like the nonprofit. For now, the place looks pretty much like the Lucha Cartel, except for the renderings of the planned renovations on the wall and the reenactor clientele.
At Monday’s dueling celebrations, as in old military battles, confusion reigned among the grunts.
“We didn’t know it was just a parking lot until literally last night,” said Jim Aires, 47, a Marine veteran from Delaware who attended the block party at the Tun Legacy Foundation site.
Still, he and his former unit members who traveled to Philly for the anniversary said they were especially proud to be celebrating the milestone roughly 250 feet away from where the original Tun stood.
At the block party, bagpipes played Marine marching songs. A Marine chaplain offered prayers. Decorated veterans spoke about 250 years of sacrifice and the sacred ground where the Tun once stood. A color guard raised its flags stiffly at attention for the national anthem.
“Nothing like being where your history started,” said Chris Hauhn, 44, of Baltimore, who served with Aires.
In a bright yellow volunteer shirt, Tun Legacy Foundation chair Rob Brink helmed the information table. Declining to comment on the trademark lawsuit, he said Dahm’s efforts have not slowed the foundation’s fundraising — they have raised about half of their $21 million goal and can begin construction after raising about $5 million more. Permits for construction have already been approved. They hope to open in early 2027.
The nonprofit is not worried, Brink said, of the two Tuns.
“People will know the difference,” he said.
At his event, Dahm spoke of his mission to open in honor of fellow Marines, including his brother, who served before he died from cancer. The bar opened its doors this weekend, serving Marines from all over.
“The support has been tremendous,” Dahm said. “What we’re getting from the Marines, is that they love what we did here.”
When it came time to unveil the Tun Tavern’s sign, and the tarp became stuck, it was Dahm who emerged on the roof to wrench it off to the crowd’s raucous cheers.
Just like at the foundation’s event, Marines inside said they were honored to celebrate at a place so close to their branch’s founding.
Johnny Oshea, 35, a Marine veteran from Ohio, said he had no dog in the fight between the two Tuns.
“Honestly, the more the merrier,” he said, over his beer. “This is who we are. This is our legacy.”