‘The Bar’ takes over former Eagles space in Ironton

Published 9:07 am Saturday, March 24, 2018

One of the newest businesses in Ironton, The Bar on 3rd Street, opened on Feb. 14 this year, and co-owner Sean Settles said it’s been great so far.

“This was a business venture,” Settles said. “We looked at a couple of other locations in town, but we knew that this has been available for a while and it fit all of our needs.”

Settles said that one of the main things he and the other co-owner of the business, Mike Laney, wanted to focus on was creating a place that everyone can come and feel comfortable.

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“We want everyone who wants to go to a bar to feel like they can come here,” he said. “We want everyone to feel welcome.”

He added that oftentimes businesses become places where only certain groups of people tend to go for one reason or another, which leads to other people feeling isolated and  that means less customers overall.

“We will not tolerate any fights here,” Settles said. “If you fight in my bar, you’re barred forever, if there’s any drugs, the police will be called and you’re barred forever. We want this to be a place where everyone can come and have a good time.”

Besides the bar area, there is a large section of tables where people can sit, as well as two pool tables and two soft-tip dart boards for customers to enjoy.

The Bar on 3rd Street has several weekly events, including open mic nights beginning at 8 p.m. on Mondays, a pool tournament beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and “Name that Tune,” an interactive game where people guess artists and songs, etc. with a DJ on Thursdays.

“Our open mic nights allow people to come in and show what they can do on our stage,” Settles said. “And we just hired two people who performed last Monday to come in and play again, so that kind of thing can happen as well.”

Settles said the business has been extremely busy on Friday and Saturday nights since opening, and that the community has provided very positive feedback.

“People in town really like how nice it is and how big it is,” he said. “And we have live music on most weekends.”

Currently, The Bar on 3rd Street has about a dozen employees, and serves up beer, wine and liquor, as well as standard bar food. Settles also added that the business is in the process of expanding as well.

Settles said that the bar takes pride in providing some of the best drink options, with well-known name brand liquor options in the well and going up in quality from there.

“We carry a lot of top-shelf whiskey and other liquor options that a lot of other places around here are not carrying,” he said. “We want to try and sell a good product.”

Settles said that the name The Bar on 3rd Street was just one of hundreds of names that was looked at, and was decided upon because it didn’t necessarily brand the business with something. Its logo also depicts a rocks glass filled with whiskey and one ice cube.

Current hours for The Bar on 3rd Street are 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 3-11 p.m. on Sundays. However, Settles said that when summer hits, it will likely open at 11 a.m. or noon.

The Bar on 3rd Street is located at 1305 S. Third Street in Ironton at the former location of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles.