A couple of popular local watering holes are getting reboots under new ownership.
The first is the Acme Tavern, located at 1310 Tacoma Ave., which Chris and Michelle Miller bought from long-time owner Steve Campagna on Sept. 22.
“I've been looking to transition out of commercial construction, so we'd been bar shopping and tavern shopping for three years, my wife and I,” Chris Miller said.
“We actually live in Federal Way, but we spend all our entertainment money in Tacoma, typically on Pacific or Sixth Ave,” he said. “We're familiar with Tacoma, and we like Tacoma. So from that angle it made sense. We knew the area, and we saw the potential.”
The couple bought the business and all its fixtures for $60,000 and closed for a month for an extensive makeover. Among improvements are a fresh paint job, the addition of wi-fi and a significantly expanded beer selection, bumped up from six to 16 taps with an emphasis on craft brews from 7 Seas Brewing, Narrows Brewing and other local favorites.
“We've rebuilt the cooler, and now the beer is right at 34 degrees. Before it was mid-40s and kind of warmish,” Miller said. “We're having some food come out the kitchen now, and then we'll have a full kitchen in January.”
The Acme hosted occasional rock and burlesque shows under Campagna's ownership – featuring the likes of CFA, Mos Generator and the Gritty City Sirens – and the new owners plan to have an even fuller schedule.
“We've already had one band come and play for us on Halloween,” Miller said. “I don't know much about the music scene, but I have connections, and we're trying to get more people to come play. So we'll have another live show on Dec. 12, I think.”
Coming up before that, though, is Turkicanus Bicyclette, the November installment of local bike club Tacoma Mob Riders' monthly “booze cruise.” The pedal-powered pub crawl will kick off at the Acme at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22 before heading off to destinations unknown (usually four to five taverns per ride.) Search Facebook for “Tacoma Mob Riders” or call the tavern at (253) 503-6712 for further details.
Meanwhile, a pair of local entrepreneurs is raising funds to revive one of the area's oldest and most beloved bars, the Goldfish Tavern near Ruston.
The 'Fish, as it's also known, has stood at 5310 N. Pearl St., across the street from Point Defiance Park, since 1933. But the building has been dark for two years, since owner Sandie Stevens shuttered her business after months of slow sales.
But now new owners Adam Dopps and Corey Webb have taken over the lease and launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds they need to reopen under a new name, the Defiant Goldfish. Earlier this week, the duo had raised more than $13,000 toward the goal of raising $22,000 by Dec. 5. (Funds go back to donors when Kickstarter goals are not met.)
Dobbs has launched his share of bars, having owned four previously, including Seattle's Greenlake Alehouse in the '90s. Granted, this newest project seems especially daunting.
“The roof leaks in one corner, and just happens to leak over the electrical panel, so the electrical panel itself is also shot,” he said, rattling off a list of much needed repairs. “The floor has been done at multiple times over the years, so in some places there is a two-inch drop. At some places there is a six-inch drop; and, for some reason or another, there's also a hole right in the middle of what would be the restaurant. It needs a lot of work.”
Among the changes longtime patrons can expect are the addition of a full kitchen and a patio facing the park. “Before it was a tavern (and) that means kids can't go in,” Dopps explained. “But with a restaurant license it's going to be family friendly. It'll be a full restaurant that kids can go to. You stand out there and you look across the street (at Point Defiance Park) and the bulk of the cars coming from across the street have kids in 'em.”
But among the biggest challenges the new owners face is giving the building an overhaul without straying too far from what locals have grown to love about the 'Fish over the years.
“It'll look totally different because I don't know how it used to look,” Dopps said. “But I feel like I'm running for office because anybody that cares about it at all has very, very strong opinions. They all look at it like 'this is our tavern, and although we really, really want you to open it again we don't want you to screw it up. We don't want you to mess with it.'
“We have several people that have old memorabilia from the bar that they're offering to donate to us, and we're going to try to utilize as much of that as possible. The one thing we're really striving to do is minimize the shock value of the change for the people that have grown up going to this place.”
The new owners hope to be open by Feb. 1, Superbowl Sunday. Learn more by going to http://www.kickstarter.com and searching for “Help Adam & Corey re-open Tacoma's historic Goldfish Tavern.”