Located in the heart of Eugene’s historic Whiteaker neighborhood, Sam Bond’s Garage is much more than just a venue; it’s a cultural landmark that dates back to ‘95. Sam Bond’s has been a staple of the neighborhood through its gritty past and its ascension into Eugene’s cultural hub.
Todd Davis, Bart Caridio and Mark Jaeger established Sam Bond’s with the intent of becoming a brewery. After they found the venue’s current home, they realized it wasn’t realistic to have a bar and also brew beer, so they scrapped the brewing plan for the moment and maintained the venue as a bar and live music establishment.@@http://projects.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/28003827-57/brewery-brewing-neighborhood-whiteaker-breweries.html.csp@@
“We put a stage in and started having music and it became such a popular music venue in a short amount of time,” Caridio said. “At that point, to close it all off and try to make a brewery didn’t seem to make any sense anymore.”
The venue was named after the previous owner, Sam Bond, who used the space to house his mechanic business. Since then, a lot of work has been done to transform the place into its current aesthetic.
“It’s kind of the premier spot to play in town as far as a bar goes,” Caridio said. Jaeger added, “And we feel it’s different than any club you’ll walk into; it’s a pretty unique experience.”
“We were one of the businesses that made it legitimate for people to feel like they could come into the Whiteaker and not have their cars broken into,” Davis said. “I think our success helped other people open businesses here.”
“We put Sam Bond’s in what was considered the worst neighborhood in town, but it was the most bohemian neighborhood too,” said Caridio. “There has been a lot of change in the past 16 years and hopefully we contributed to that.”
In the springtime, the three owners will be opening up a brewery on 8th and Ferry under the Sam Bond’s moniker.