Margie’s Grill, a cult-favorite dive bar in Troy where smoking was allowed long after the smoking ban but profanity has always been verboten, closed after business on Saturday night (6/1). The owner, Margie Ritrovato, has sold the building, at 221 Fourth St., after nearly four decades in business. Now in her late 70s, she is retiring.

Troy bar owner and restaurateur Vic Christopher, of Clark House Hospitality, says goodbye in a video he made on Saturday night. See it at Two Buttons Deep. In Christopher’s video, a man who identifies himself as Ritrovato’s nephew says the business is closing after 37 years. A feature story from the Times Union’s former afternoon sibling, The Knickerbocker News, about Margie’s, published in 1986 and reprinted below, says Margie’s was three years old when the story came out. Regardless of whether it was 36 or 37 years old, Margie’s will be missed.

MARGIE’S: A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE COLLAR CITY — AND NO SWEARING

John Caher/The Knickerbocker News

Margie Ritrovato runs her bar with an ice-cold brew and an iron-clad constitution.

Two prominently displayed signs at Margie’s Grill, 221 Fourth St., admonish: “Absolutely No Profanity.” And Ritrovato’s not kidding. “There is no swearing in here, and I mean it,” she warned with a stern expression that slowly eased into a warm smile.

“Anybody can slip once, but twice and I’ll ask you to leave. Don’t, and I’ll call the police and you’ll never get in here again. The fellas ask me if I think it’s a church, but if you take a date out, you don’t want people sitting next to you cursing and swearing.”

In the three years since Ritrovato, 45, opened the South Central neighborhood bar in a former barbershop, several patrons have been scolded for uttering a four-letter word, she said. Other offenders have their names scribbled on a “not speaking to” list tacked up behind the bar annually.

The 1986 list, only 4 months old, contains 74 entries, including some well-known national figures, local residents and a sprinking of businesses and government agencies.

Actually the list belongs to Mickey Rubino, a Troy resident who ran bars on River Street and Hill Street from the early 1950s until he suffered a stroke a few years back, Ritrovato said.

Ritrovato, a friend who takes care of Rubino, said she opened her bar with his technical assistance — and a smattering of his former customers.

The partially serious, partially tongue-in-cheek “not speaking to” list was compiled yearly at Rubino’s taverns when they were open and has been displayed at Margie’s since then.

A slur against crooner Frank Sinatra will earn you an express ticket to the “not speaking to” list, but transgressors have discovered a variety of routes to the same spot behind the bar, Ritrovato said.

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo made it for lobbying to increase the legal drinking age. Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio was added to the poster of infamy after “lowering himself” to sell a coffee maker, she said.

Others include some of Rubino’s former relatives, former President Gerald Ford, check-out girls at several local businesses, Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., the State Liquor Authority and “floozies.”

A special catergory of “not speaking to — forever” includes Miami Dolphins Coach Don Shula and former Dolphin great Larry Csonka.

“Mickey lost a lot of money on a game,” Ritrovato explained, smiling.

Margie’s Grill is one of a dozen or so small neighborhood taverns that dot the side streets and street corners and serve up a slice of life in the Collar City. Some specialize in 50-cent drafts, jumbo sandwiches, hijacked cable-televised sports or free entertainment.

Most, like Margie’s, are geared toward a particular clientele.

For instance, Ritrovato, who became a waitress when she was 16 years old, keeps the bar open to 4 a.m. daily and caters largely t bartenders, waiters and waitresses who get out of work late but still want to stop off for a drink before heading home.

“We’ll stay open to 4 o’clock every night,” Ritrovato said, “whether anybody is here or not. That way they know we are always open. You look for a place to go after work, don’t you?”