Rules oddity: Tavern Brawler and Grappling at range?

[Segev]

Tavern Brawler lets you grapple as a bonus action any creature you hit with an improvised weapon. Now, admittedly, it would end more or less immediately for it being out of your reach, but theoretically you could hurl alchemist's fire at a guy 15 feet away and initiate a grapple!

[No brains]

The question becomes: what are you grappling them with. When a creature leaves the reach, not range, of the grappling attack, the grapple ends. Alchemist's fire doesn't have a way to maintain the grab

But if you want to smack a ladder over someone's neck like Jackie Chan or hit someone with a grappling hook that has grappling right in the name, heave ho!

[Hytheter]

There's nothing to suggest the feat lets you circumvent the normal limitations of grappling.

[JNAProductions]

There's nothing to suggest the feat lets you circumvent the normal limitations of grappling.

This. It doesn't say "You can grapple the target at any distance," it says "When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or an improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target."

It changes the action economy of Grappling, but that's it.