The HandleBar is a nightclub located at 319 North Tarragona Street that dates back to the early 1980s. Owned by Sue and Jimmy Lamar III, it is often described as a "hole-in-the-wall bar,"[1] and "the closest thing Pensacola has to a true CBGB-style dive."[2] It is a popular venue for local and regional bands from the area's punk rock and underground music scene.
Fire
In the early morning hours of April 11, 2001, a fire gutted the HandleBar's historic brick building. The fire was classified as "suspicious" by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, but the cause was never determined.[3] With the help of labor volunteered by former patrons and fundraisers held by Seville Quarter and Subterranean Books, the bar was able to rebuild. It reopened twenty months later on December 21, 2002. Previously partitioned into three separate rooms, the building now has no interior walls.
External links
References
- ↑ "The HandleBar: That was then, this is now." Pensacola News Journal, December 28, 2002.
- ↑ Independent News - INMA '05 Winners
- ↑ "HandleBar to rebuild after suspicious fire." Pensacola News Journal, August 29, 2001.