08/19/2026
The flags at Rico’s received an early refresh this year.
We normally change them out four times a year, on the equinoxes and solstices. Today, we changed them early in remembrance of Roger and in honor of tomorrow’s Raise a Pint to Roger.
When Roger bought Rico’s in 1980, it was a very different place. There were pots and pans on the floor to catch leaks from the roof. Damage from a fire in the late 1970s eventually made a complete remodel necessary. In 1988, Roger tore the bar apart from top to bottom and rebuilt it, investing roughly $85,000 in 1988 dollars.
That remodel was only the beginning. Over the years, Roger continued adding the details that brought Rico’s closer to his vision of a true European-style public house: a warm and welcoming gathering place meant for everyone. He added the fireplace, covered the walls with tap handles, beer paraphernalia. and made countless other changes, large and small.
His final design addition was the flags of the world.
The flags called back to one of Roger’s earliest and most successful promotions, the European Beer Tour. Customers worked their way through bottled beers from countries around the globe to earn a Rico’s shirt. It was fun, a little educational and completely Roger.
Today, those flags tell a larger story. They represent the place Roger spent more than four decades imagining, building and refining, and the public house he created for all of us.
Today, they fly for him. 🍺
