'I don't own a credit card, that's dumb': 103-year-old World War II vet says he's still behind the bar in his basement 'for the money!'

In an interview with The Washington Post, Koch offered a glimpse into the life of a bartender who has lived through generations of customers, innovation and economic ups and downs. Still, Koch isn’t interested in adopting every modern financial convenience to keep his bar running. That includes accepting credit card payments.

“I don’t own a credit card; that’s dumb,” he told the Washington Post, adding that “the government can trace everything you do.”

For Koch, who grew up during the Great Depression, the value of a dollar is something he learned long before credit cards became commonplace.

“When I was born and all, everything was pennies, nickels and dimes,” he told the Washington Post when asked why he continues tending the bar. “Now it’s twenties, fifties, hundreds. So that’s why I opened up the bar. For the money!”

A bar that came with the house before local laws could ban it

Before becoming a bartender, Koch worked as a builder for Sears and later as a plumber alongside his brother. He had also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Koch didn’t originally plan to spend the rest of his life serving beer. But that plan took an unexpected turn when he purchased his home in 1963 and discovered that the property came with an established bar in the basement.

The house, which dates back to 1912, had previously served as an inn. Rather than close the bar, Koch decided to keep it running.

“We needed a house, so we bought the house,” he told The Washington Post. “And guess what? The bar came with it.”

The combination would be difficult to establish under today’s local zoning rules. The secret to Club Sunset Knoll’s survival is a legal concept known as grandfathering, commonly associated with a nonconforming use.

Koch’s case is especially unusual because the house predates modern zoning regulations by decades. The property was built before Anne Arundel County, where Koch lives, adopted its first comprehensive zoning ordinance in 1952. And the basement bar was already operating before Koch purchased the property.

Today, the property is in an R-2 residential zoning district, which is intended primarily for low- to medium-density residential development. Taverns are not permitted uses in that district under the current zoning framework, according to reporting on the bar’s zoning history.

While Irv’s Basement Bar was grandfathered in, Anne Arundel County’s zoning guidance makes clear that grandfathering is not automatic. And alcohol sales bring another layer of regulation.

Maryland’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Commission oversees alcohol regulation, while local licensing authorities administer retail alcohol licenses. The applicable requirements depend on the license category, jurisdiction and property involved.

A lawyer for Anne Arundel County’s liquor board summed up the unusual nature of Koch’s establishment in a 2014 profile, telling The Baltimore Sun: “You can’t do it these days. No one could come in now and do the same thing.”

According to local reporting on its licensing history, its special residential club liquor license cannot be sold or transferred. It will expire when Koch stops operating the bar.

Why Koch keeps a cash-only approach

For Koch, cash isn’t just a relic of a bygone era. His approach also has potential financial advantages for his business.

Merchants typically pay processing fees when customers use credit cards. Those costs vary by payment network, card type and processor, but they can cut into a small business’s margins, particularly when customers make inexpensive purchases.

By accepting cash only, Koch avoids credit card-processing fees and doesn’t have to maintain electronic payment terminals. Cash transactions also settle immediately.

But refusing cards comes with trade-offs. Cash-only establishments must manage deposits, keep accurate financial records and take precautions against theft. Customers who don’t carry cash may choose to spend their money elsewhere, potentially costing businesses sales.

For Koch, the benefits of doing things his way appear to outweigh the drawbacks — and he doesn’t seem to be slacking on the sales front. His bar has survived for decades without the payment technology many modern businesses consider essential.

For Koch, cash is simply the old-school system he knows and trusts.

The attention ‘definitely seems to keep him alive’

More than 60 years later, Koch’s basement establishment remains largely unchanged. There is a jukebox, a pool table, an old-fashioned cash register and walls covered in messages left by visitors spanning more than six decades. The bar also contains a collection of bras canopied from the ceiling — a tradition started by a customer named Amy many moons ago.