Location of Legendary Local Bar Slated For New Use

photo courtesy musicisentropy.

By Caitlyn Finnegan

Once a mecca for avid fans of rock ‘n’ roll, the cinderblock building that formerly housed Dub’s restaurant and bar on NW 13th Street is getting a new lineup.

Notorious for its rowdy crowds and cheap beer, the bar was opened by James “Dub” Thomas in 1964 and remained a haven for up-and-coming local bands until Thomas’ death in 1990. During Dub’s heyday in the 1970s, locals could throw down a few bucks to get front-row access to acts like Bob Seger, Foghat and Tom Petty, who started playing at Dub’s with his first band, Mudcrutch.

Now, the location is trading in its reputation of rollicking performances and infamous mini-skirt contests for W-2 forms and office attire as it makes the transition from a raucous bar to the new Gainesville Social Security office.

Todd Rainsberger, co-owner of the Beery-Rainsberger Group at Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors, helped negotiate the sale of the property.

“Back in the 1970s I may have visited Dub’s once or twice myself,” Rainsberger said. “Over the years, the City of Gainesville had so many complaints from neighbors about the bar that the city will no longer allow that use on the property.”

Rutherford-Strickland, a developer used for government properties, will be constructing the new office.

With a growing number of vacant buildings in the area finding new tenants, this latest addition is just another deal helping to fuel the commercial real estate upswing realtors are seeing not only on 13th Street, but across the city, said Beau Berry, co-owner and broker of the Coldwell Banker Commercial M.M. Parrish Realtors.

Beery said his group is already in talks with national companies interested in the nearby vacant box stores previously occupied by Walmart and Sticks ‘N’ Stuff, with those deals likely to close in the upcoming weeks.

“It’s still a tough corridor but things are happening,” Beery said. “I think these deals could act as a catalyst for others to put the area on their map.”

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