The building at 379 Bloomfield Ave in Caldwell was built in roughly 1913. The building had many uses including as a five and dime store, a pharmacy, a grocery store, among other uses. In the early 1970’s the building was fitted with a kitchen and used as two restaurant bars, Le Garage and Gasoline Alley. Both were successful for a time but, like the other uses of the building, no single business lasted too long. That all changed in 1978 when Bob Harper purchased the building with a partner. They began construction and turned the burger joint with a large dining room into a bar and restaurant with a massive square bar that is there to this day. Bob quickly bought out his partner and decided to create a place where everyone would feel welcome and at home. Built like a boxing ring, Bob settled on the name Ringside Pub with the idea that Ringside would be a place where it would be easy to get a drink and hangout. No matter how large of a crowd there was, everyone would have a Ringside seat. Ringside Pub ran as a bar and restaurant for the first few years with booths on one side and a large kitchen in the back of the building. Finally, around 1985, faced with a booming bar business, Bob decided to remove the kitchen and booths and focus solely on selling alcohol.