Tappo Day Club

This story has been bouncing around social media in Buffalo for several days now and every day it seems to get worse.

Long before this controversial story came out I had been hearing a lot about the Tappo Day Club because my neighbor and FB friend Elias has been running the live music for the club and he has been actively promoting the club and the shows via Facebook. I was seeing all of his posts every day which often included snippets of the music he was promoting and pictures of the club which of course included the swimming pool.

Actually there are three stages at the location and really three separate businesses. This is all occurring in Black Rock on Chandler Street. The businesses are Thin Man Brewery, Tappo Pizza and Tappo Day Club which includes the pool. One stage is inside the Thin Man / Tappo Pizza building, the second stage is an outdoor patio area and the third stage is next to the pool and part of the all day admission for the Tappo Day Club.

The problems began at the grand opening on May 22nd and the response by owner Rocco Termini who has developed the site on Chandler Street to very positive responses over the past few years. There was a fight and alleged stabbing during the grand opening celebration activities by some apparently gang affiliated people who came expecting a nightclub.

The response from the owner was to take the recommendations of his security team to create a set of dress code rules that have been roundly declared as racists and when I read through it I thought so too. Social media went crazy and I was seeing a stunning amount of negative comments on Twitter and Facebook including many calls to boycott the Tappo Day Club. 

Some of the items on the dress code...  no baggy pants, no hoodies, no flat brim hats, pants and shorts must be worn at waist, no bandanas (men), belts required, no oversized jewelry, no ripped jeans, no work boots, no graphic tees, no athletic jerseys, etc.

The negative commentary also included the other businesses in the Chandler street complex including Tappo PIzza and Thin Man Brewery which were completely separate from Tappo Day Club which is solely owned by Rocco Termini. There were also people who equated the Tappo Day Club with Mike Shatzel's businesses including Cole's, Liberty Hound, The Terrace, Allen Burger Venture, Colter Bay, Brennan's Bowery Bar, Moor Pat and Moor Room. Shatzel had to distance himself from Termini's businesses.

Rocco Termini issued an apology but I doubt it will change the dynamics of this situation. I have loved going to Thin Man on Chandler and it was nice when they added Tappo Pizza to the mix and the live music is nice. However, I would never venture into the Tappo Day Club pool area and not just because of the $25 cover charge. Mixing a pool and a bar doesn't sound like a good idea or business plan to me. It's a potential disaster as was the actual opening night party for this pool club.

There was also a lot of comments about cancel culture and wokeness from our local magats and q-anoners.

Oh well, plenty of other good bars and restaurants in the city.