The oldest bar in Eugene is turning 100 this year, and Luckey’s has a lineup of fun bands and prizes Friday night to help celebrate the anniversary.
“Club Cigar” was purchased and named “Luckey’s Club Cigar Store” in 1911 by Tad Luckey Sr., whose parents had emigrated to Eugene from Ireland.@@http://luckeysclub.com/history/hist2.php@@
“I wish I had the public records for the day that the Luckey family bought the place, but I don’t,” said current owner, Jo Dee Moine.@@http://luckeysclub.com/history/hist5.php@@
Without the actual date, Luckey’s chose to celebrate its birthday on 11/11/11 to make the night extra special. Festivities officially start at 7:30 p.m., but doors open at 6:45 p.m. The first hundred patrons will receive a free commemorative mug. Other events lined up include live music, chances to win Luckey’s merchandise and a raffle.
“We’re just trying to make it fun and celebrate Luckey’s making it to 100 years, and hopefully it will make it through the next hundred years,” Moine said.
Luckey’s is a special place in Eugene — not only is it the oldest bar and owner of the oldest liquor license in Lane County — but a lot of the fixtures inside the bar are functioning antiques.
“It really is kind of a time capsule in a lot of ways,” Moine said. “There’s nothing like it with an original interior in Eugene.”
The antique Brunswick billiards tables@@http://www.brunswickbilliards.com/@@ cost $5 an hour to play. The bar’s old, horseshoe-shaped neon sign — the oldest one in Eugene — hangs above the stage. (In fact, a miniature version is available as the grand prize in the raffle Friday night.) The antique, Cuban cigar stained-glass window dates to 1904.
“I’ve done my best to keep it looking the same,” Moine said. “There are conscious decisions I make to keep it looking turn of the century.”
It hasn’t been easy to keep the bar in working condition. Luckey’s has survived a lot: Prohibition, two world wars, the Depression. In the ’60s, Eugene’s downtown mall was converted to a pedestrian-only zone, supposedly to be community-friendly, but ultimately the result was empty buildings and businesses relocating elsewhere — except for Luckey’s, which survived the closing as well as the reopening to traffic in the downtown mall. In the ’70s, Eugene demolished the historic downtown buildings in the name of urban renewal,@@Ugh@@ and then-owner Ben Rayovich moved the entire bar from its Willamette Street location to its current Olive Street location, basically building a replica and moving the interior.@@I’d be curious why?@@ Luckey’s, still a current cigar store, has even survived the smoking ban, which took effect in Eugene in 2001.@@See links above@@
But somehow, Luckey’s has lived up to its name and @@could we add “luckily” here?@@made it through — and made lasting friends, too.
“There are so many people in town that have memories of Luckey’s,” Moine said. “Especially the long-timers.”
A University alumna herself, Moine said she always encourages students to visit the bar. In fact, many of the bands that start out playing at Luckey’s are formed from students in the music school.
“For any emerging bands, that’s the place for them to get exposure,” she said. “We’re really committed to the live music scene.”
Luckey’s has live music at least five nights a week, booking around 45 artists every month, according to Sean Ponder,@@http://www.myspace.com/reeblejar@@ who runs the sound at the bar. Luckey’s professional stage and sound system help make sure bands feel comfortable. The bar features a wide spectrum of music, everything from straight jazz, acoustic singers and indie to funk, rock, disc jockeys and a mix of everything else.
“We book all sorts of different genres of music,” Ponder said. “We like to help local groups but we also book nationally touring acts.”
For the 100th Year Anniversary Celebration, Luckey’s has four performers scheduled, all of whom have played at the bar over the years as the venue developed itself.
“We wanted to invite back some of the bands that have made it a venue for popular music,” Moine said.
Matthew Hayward-Macdonald, of the now-broken-up band Toad in the Hole,@@http://eugenedailynews.com/2011/03/16/no-pot-of-gold-needed/@@ is slotted to play his usual melodic Irish folk music Friday at the celebration. The future-jazz and funk group Eleven Eyes@@http://www.eleveneyes.org/@@ will be performing, as will Marv Ellis,@@http://www.marvellis.com/my-bio/@@ a hip-hop artist from the Pacific Northwest.
Reeble Jar, of which Ponder is the guitarist,@@http://www.myspace.com/reeblejar@@ is also lined up.
“It’s one of our most popular bands ever,” Moine said of Reeble Jar.
Reeble Jar plays mainly instrumental music that is danceable and driving but original, mostly a mix of funk and jazz. The band has been playing since 2004, and Ponder said playing at Luckey’s is like being with close family.
“It’s always been almost a kind of home base,” he said. “Even though we play everywhere, it always feels good to come back here.”