After completing summer renovations, The Red Brick Tavern welcomed returning and new customers during a relaunching event Friday.
From late April to early August, Red Brick, located at 14 N. Court St., went through renovations to make use of empty space and to draw in customers.
The tavern was bought by Dan DeLuca in 2006 and was passed on to his son, Daniel DeLuca, in 2014. About three years ago, Daniel DeLuca began talks regarding renovations to increase capacity and breathe new life into the bar.
The renovations added a patio where former parking spots were, a lounge area with a jukebox and three televisions and restrooms upstairs, increasing the bar's overall capacity. Daniel DeLuca said the goal of recent renovations was to update the space so it could be as efficiently safe as possible for customers to come and go without issue.
“We finally had the ability to do that by expanding into the back, and it gives a good flow to the bar so (people) can come in and out and exit,” Daniel DeLuca said.
The staff was excited by the renovations and relaunching event to display the bar’s changes to the city of Athens. Senior Anika Rood, a media intern employed at The Red Brick Tavern through Dahlen Communications, said she felt the event would bring back past bar-goers and draw connections.
“I think that everybody, at least, has a couple memories in Red Brick,” Rood said. “I just think that seeing the new space and kind of reliving past memories in there is like the biggest thing.”
The relaunch event started at 7 p.m., and a ribbon-cutting followed at 7:30 p.m. The ribbon was cut by Daniel DeLuca and met with cheers. At the event, the Ohio University Athletics Department and Twisted Tea set up a table handing out shirts, washcloths, sunglasses and water bottles. Red Brick also featured a photo booth where customers and friends could take photos at the event. Tony Slone, an alternative rock and country artist, and a DJ performed at the event.
Matt Dedich, a senior studying accounting and marketing, attended the event after seeing the announcement for the relaunching on social media. Dedich said he has come to the bar for a while and comes back because the staff is like family.
“I'm very impressed with how they've been able to try to recommit their name,” Dedich said. “It's cool that we've seen this place change for as much as it has for the last couple weeks since I've been back. It's just the fact that it's the same old Red Brick.”
Dedich said he enjoyed the relaunch, especially with the merch, music and drinks, but the night felt the same as any other night at the bar.
“This place has always been special,” Dedich said. “To me, it's just the fact that more people are able to recognize the fact that this place is a pretty damn good place. Beer is cold, the people are cool, and they got a better bar now.”
The Red Brick Tavern team struggled to find the perfect date, debating between having the event on Labor Day weekend but ultimately decided against the weekend.
“I think we chose to do it after Labor Day weekend since more students would be here,” Rood said. “So that’s kind of in hopes that more of the student body is able to experience Red Brick kind of maybe hear a little bit more about what went into the ‘new’ Red Brick Tavern.”
Daniel DeLuca was happy that the event went well and had positive reception. He said the event had an amazing turnout and went with no major problems.
“People were excited,” DeLuca said. “It was a good small group of people who came out to see it. The best way to put it, is it was like an open house where everyone had fun.”
