Formerly: Dilworth's Tavern · Beans Tavern · Warminster Hotel · Mike's Bar and Grill · Mike's York Street Bar & Grill
Warminster, Pennsylvania · Founded 1758
A reopened Warminster bar in the former Warminster Hotel, with a local tavern history traceable at least to the name Dilworth's Tavern by 1758.
Mike's York Road Tavern operates at 544 York Road in Warminster, Pennsylvania, in the building long known as the Warminster Hotel and later as Beans Tavern. Historical research supports a tavern reference at the site by 1758, when it was called Dilworth's Tavern, but the familiar claim that the present tavern was built and licensed in 1730 is disputed by property-record research. The former Mike's Bar and Grill reopened under its current name in December 2023 after roughly a year closed.
A historical source quoted in later property research says the present tavern was known as Dilworth's Tavern by this year, while noting that the date it was first licensed as an inn was unknown.
Source: William Tennent House Association, "Fit for a Store or Tavern," October 22, 2020, quoting Ely's 1905 revision of Davis' History of Bucks County
Isaac Beans acquired the 154-acre property and installed his son, Thomas Beans, as proprietor; the place later became known as Beans Tavern.
Source: Warminster Township, "A History of Warminster Township"; William Tennent House Association, "Fit for a Store or Tavern"
Local drafted men assembled at Beans Tavern and marched to Philadelphia during the War of 1812.
Source: Warminster Township, "A History of Warminster Township"
A local restaurant profile described the operating business as Mike's York Street Bar & Grill and noted the site's association with the former Warminster Hotel and Beans Tavern.
Source: The Reporter, "Mike's York Street Bar & Grill," January 29, 2008
After the former Mike's Bar and Grill had been closed for nearly a year, the business reopened under new ownership as Mike's York Road Tavern following renovations to its bar and banquet rooms.
Source: Patch, "Mike's York Road Tavern Officially Opens in Warminster," December 11, 2023
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The traditional 1730 attribution is repeated in township history, tourism, press, and the venue's own marketing. However, detailed deed and mortgage research found that Thomas Linter/Linton's 1730 records concerned a different property, while the current tavern site appears to have been Cadwallader land. The research concludes that later histories perpetuated the unproven 1730 tavern date.
The William Tennent House Association quotes Ely's 1905 revision of Davis' History of Bucks County, which says that the date of the first inn license was unknown but that the establishment was called Dilworth's Tavern as early as 1758. The underlying earlier source should be examined before upgrading the claim to documented.
Warminster Township's local history describes Isaac and Thomas Beans' connection to the property and calls the site the Warminster Hotel. A 2008 Reporter profile independently describes Mike's predecessor as formerly known as the Warminster Hotel and notes the Beans Tavern history.
The claim depends on the disputed 1730 dating and lacks a complete continuity record for this business lineage. The site has a credible early tavern history, but the reviewed evidence does not establish its age or uninterrupted operation against other Bucks County venues.
Warminster Township's published history states that drafted men assembled at Beans Tavern on September 18, 1814, and marched to Philadelphia. The event supports a War of 1812 association, not an unverified Revolutionary-War claim.
The story is repeated in the venue's current website and in Patch articles reporting the venue's history. The reviewed material does not identify an earlier attributable source, a historical basis for Penelope's identity, or a documented investigation; repetition of the lore does not establish it.
The present Mike's York Road Tavern was built in 1730 and Thomas Lintner or Linton was licensed there that year to keep a house of entertainment for man and horse.
The 1730 story is repeatedly published, but deed and mortgage research indicates that the Thomas Linter/Linton records point to a different property. The present tavern site appears to have been Cadwallader land, and a historical source says the first inn license at the present site was unknown, though it was called Dilworth's Tavern by 1758.
Source: William Tennent House Association, "Fit for a Store or Tavern," October 22, 2020
Mike's York Road Tavern reopened under its current name in 2024.
The former Mike's Bar and Grill reopened as Mike's York Road Tavern in December 2023 after closing for nearly a year. Renovation and operational changes continued into 2024.
Source: Patch, "New Name, New Look For Mike's Bar And Grill in Warminster," December 4, 2023; Patch, "Mike's York Road Tavern Officially Opens in Warminster," December 11, 2023
The venue's early military connection is Revolutionary War history.
The documented gathering cited in Warminster Township history occurred during the War of 1812, when drafted men assembled at Beans Tavern on September 18, 1814. No reliable source was found for a building-specific Revolutionary-War event.
Source: Warminster Township, "A History of Warminster Township"
The location has remained a recognizable Warminster gathering place through changing names, owners, and uses. Its current operators revived a closed neighborhood restaurant by reopening the historic York Road building as a bar, restaurant, and banquet venue, while its deeper colonial chronology remains a research question rather than a marketing certainty.
Mike's York Road Tavern in Warminster occupies the former Warminster Hotel, a York Road property with a tavern reference by 1758, when a historical account called it Dilworth's Tavern. It later became associated with the Beans family and was known as Beans Tavern before the Warminster Hotel name. The former Mike's Bar and Grill reopened under the Mike's York Road Tavern name in December 2023 after a year-long closure and renovation.
Mike's York Road Tavern is not a verified oldest-tavern titleholder in Bucks County. Its frequently repeated 1730 origin story is disputed by property-record research, and the evidence reviewed establishes a tavern at the present site by 1758 rather than a proven 1730 founding. Older Bucks County claims, including King George II Inn and Logan Inn, require their own continuity reviews and do not make Mike's claim stronger.
Yes. Warminster Township history and a 2008 Reporter profile identify the historic York Road building as the former Warminster Hotel. The site was also associated with the Beans family and was known as Beans Tavern before its later restaurant and bar identities.
The 1730 construction date is widely repeated, but it is not established for the present tavern building. A property-record study found that the person linked to the 1730 license claim appears to have held a different York Road tract, while the present tavern site had a separate ownership history. The earliest tavern reference located in the reviewed historical material is Dilworth's Tavern by 1758.
544 York Rd, Warminster, PA 18974
215-259-6867
A bar, restaurant, and event venue on York Road; the current business reopened in December 2023 after renovation, so check the venue directly for hours and private-event availability.