Expect nothing fancy at Lucky's

Dec. 22—SUFFIELD — Jeff Adams has been running bars for about 35 years, at about half a dozen locations throughout Connecticut, including Lucky's Pub on Ucar Street.

"We opened up June 2012," Adams said.

When Adams took over, it was completely vacant.

"There was nothing here whatsoever, he said. "There were no bathrooms, no bar."

Lucky's Pub

Address: 7 Ucar St., Suffield.

Hours: Monday 3-11 p.m.; Tuesday-Sunday noon-11 p.m.

Menu: Full bar; 14 craft beers on tap; pre-packaged food

Misc.: Catered food on football Sundays.

Contact: 860-623-0834;

facebook.com/people/Luckys-Pub-Suffield-Ct/100063556089295

Adams said he's operated other local bars and pubs, including the Shamrock, which is across the street from Lucky's.

"We've been doing this for like 35 years," he said.

"I'm a people person," he said. "I like to be social. I like to drink. You put all that together and it worked from the beginning. I've got about a half dozen places. Some I've sold and some I still have."

"We have a unique customer base here," Adams said. "It goes from kids in their mid-20s and 30s. We have a middle-age crowd, and then we have an older crowd like me. It's a broad spectrum of customers. It's a nice mix."

He said the crowds, depending on their age range, have created their own pockets of time when they visit the bar.

"The older folks will come in here from 4 to 6 p.m.," he said. "The younger ones are more night people and the middle age come in whenever."

The concept of Lucky's Pub, which is pretty much a bar with high-top tables along the opposite wall, is simplicity. Four years ago, Adams said, they opened a patio and fire pit outside.

"It just adds to our capacity and in the summer it works out tremendously," he said.

What Lucky's Pub doesn't have, he said, are crazy cocktail or signature drink menus.

"There are not a lot of gimmicks here," he said. "People know what they're getting.

"It's a very simple place," Adams said. "We don't have a pool table. We don't have a kitchen. We don't really do entertainment. It's basically people socializing or watching the games."

Though they have no kitchen, by law, he said, they have to serve food, so during most normal business hours, they serve pre-packed sandwiches and microwave soups.

The pub doesn't have a set menu, Adams said, and the regulars know what to order anyway. That includes drinks.

"They'll tell you what they want," he said. "Maybe once a week we'll put in something creative. Otherwise they seem to be happy with that."

There are 14 "quality craft beers" on tap, he said, and a wide alcohol selection.

"We have any drink you Awant, we can make it," Adams said. "You've got everything you need."

The time Lucky's does get busy with food is during holidays and special events like Sunday football, where they cater food in.

"We have a great football Sunday," he said.

Each Sunday food choice is different, he said, hiring out catering companies to mix up the menu every week, including pulled pork, beef stew, and tacos, from caterers and food trucks like Pickle Jar Deli in East Windsor and Fat City Kid out of Windsor Locks.

"We try to mix it up so it's not the same," he said.

Holiday events are the same way he said, and will even occasionally bring in live entertainment.

"We get a pipes and drum group in every St. Patrick's Day," he said.

Adams said running Lucky's Pub for 10 years has been a "good run."

"You lose some customers and you gain some," he said. "We took a hit with COVID. We were shut completely for three months. We're going to keep plugging away. It's a fairly easy one to run."

He praised his two bartenders, Amy Simon and Rebecca Massaro, for their work.

"They run the place," he said. "They do everything. I'm more of the mantle piece."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.