RipTide, the townie bar located on Pleasant Street, held one last hoorah Saturday afternoon before the bar was transferred to its new ownership. The bar will remain open under the new owners.
On Saturday night, the bar was packed shoulder-to-shoulder as locals toasted to George Ciampa, who owned it for 55 years. Marblehead resident Steve Chasson, who attended the party, said that it’s tough to see the bar change ownership.
“Sad to see the Ripper go,” Chasson said.
Another resident, Paul F. Duffy, said that his family has been coming to the RipTide for three generations.
The bar originally opened as Kylie’s roughly eight decades ago after Prohibition ended. In January, it was put on the market for $1 million. The RipTide will now be closed until renovations on the bar are completed.