Last weekend marked the end of a four-and-half-year era, which might not seem long enough, but countless new friendships and romantic relationships blossomed under disco lights.
Unplugged Pub is co-owned by Mary Wilson, Marilyn Lampard, Michael Bradley and Nancy Jones.
“We did this as a project because we were retired and wanted to bring something upscale and different to Bryson City,” said Wilson. “We got more than we expected with the bands and atmosphere. People came in here to socialize and gather. We got more out of it than what we put into it. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried. Several connections were made. People got married and engaged. I will miss the people. It will always be remembered as Unplugged Pub. It is time for us to take care of family.”
The approximate 3,000-square-foot space and property is owned by Thomas Hurley. The new lessee has signed a promissory note and is expected to sign the lease June 2. If that does not happen, the pub would remain Unplugged Pub through November.
“A lot are upset because they won’t have a classier place to go,” said Lampard, retired Chicago police officer. “It’s a kind of place where your wife could go by herself and feel comfortable. We had cool decorations, fun New Year’s Eve parties and holiday parties. We had live music on the weekends, line dancing on Wednesday, karaoke nights every other Thursday night, a meeting space, birthday parties, wedding receptions and fundraisers.”
In fact, Wilson had approximately 30 bands on her call list to play at the drop of a hat.
When Lori & the Freightshakers strummed its last note on the Unplugged Pub stage Saturday night and the lights went out for the last time Sunday evening, memories were all that remained.
“Mile High played Friday and Lori (McDonald) shook the house down Saturday night,” Wilson said.
The unplugged owners played their favorite bands throughout the month of May.
“The weekend was good,” said Bradley. “Last weekend was one of the better weekends. Four-and-half years and we have yet to have a punch thrown or the police called inside. We worked very hard. Every night, we cleaned. We established perimeters. Within the first month, we kicked out two people dealing. We would escort people out of the bar. The customers and town were behind us from day one. I think it’s sad for all of us. We had a tremendous time and met a lot of good people.”
Bradley added that everything in the bar would remain in place apart from alcohol products and glasses. The new lessee and business owner has different plans for the establishment.
“We’ve been in it for almost five years and that’s long enough for anybody to own a bar,” said Jones. “It is killing people. They can’t believe we are closing. My wish is that it had stayed Unplugged Pub, except we are getting too old to run a bar.”
Patron Becky Anthony had moved back home after a breakup when she discovered the pub.
“I found this place I could walk to where all my friends hung out,” Anthony said. “When my daddy died in September of 2021, this place was my safe place to hang out with my friends and distract myself and have fun. We will all miss it very much. It’s been a saving grace to a lot of us.”
Anthony met Brandi Nobriga and Linda Chavez.
“Our husbands died within months apart,” Nobriga said. “The very first time we came in here, Mike and Mary were like, ‘Come on in.’ I started coming just over a month after my husband died. Linda’s died about six months before mine. We came in here and had a shot. Black Water Station was here practicing at the time. It was a Thursday night. The next night was Mile High. Linda and I sat there in tears, dancing in our chairs. Mile High became good friends of ours. They were family almost immediately. Linda and I worked together, but this is where we really became friends. Becky started dancing with us. It’s never been just a bar.”
Chavez learned to grieve with her new friends. She even played the Unplugged Pub matchmaker recently. Chavez is arguably the reason Nobriga found love again.
“We knew each other,” said Nobriga. “But Linda told him I had crush on him and told me he wanted to ask me out for dinner. So, we went flee marketing. We even bought a thank you card that said, ‘Little Miss Matchmaker, we are on to you.’”
Chavez maintained the couple just needed an “extra push.”
“I’m so happy to see two people who are so well matched,” said Chavez from the pub’s deck. “We had a lot of widows who got together to support one another. We would get together on Sundays and sit out on this deck.”
For other regulars like Don Simonds, losing Unplugged Pub was like “losing a good friend.”
“It’s partly because we’ve become family,” said Simonds. “It’s a great place to come relax without the chaos of other pubs and bars. They kept it a clean, respectable place to come.”