Hugh E. Bir's celebrates 57 years of business

Erik Hackman, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

May 31—NEW ALBANY — To celebrate the 57th anniversary of the bar, Hugh E. Bir's Café will be holding a street party on June 11.

The party will be at 324 East Market St., New Albany and starts at noon. They will be shutting the street down for the party. Food, a cornhole tournament, raffles and music will be available at the party all day.

Bands such as Ajnahara, Up to Hear, Homemade Jam and Hugh Bir Jr. and the Concrete Canyon Cowboys will be performing music for the street party.

Hugh E. Bir, the owner of the bar, has owned the establishment since 1988, but it has been in his family since 1966. His parents bought the bar in the 1960s and passed it down to Bir when he was able to run it.

"We're going on four generations now," Bir said. "The fourth generation is going to be playing at the street party with us."

Before his parents bought the café, the building itself had been registered as a tavern since 1839. This café is the oldest family-owned drinking establishment in Floyd County, Bir said.

Bir has been playing music since he was 5. That love for music has been passed on to his two children and his grandson. Both of his children will be playing at the party with their bands.

Keeping the bar in the family is important to Bir. Once he is ready to retire from it, his two children will take over it and keep it family-owned.

"I'm not saying I'm going to quit... when that time comes, that's the plan," Bir said.

The clientele has been one of the main changes for the bar over past 57 years, Bir said. The business has mostly stayed the same throughout all the years.

Bir has had many interesting people come in and out of the bar, one of which was Barry McGuire, a singer and songwriter.

"One Harvest Homecoming, he came in and we played the song ("Eve of Destruction")," Bir said. "He talked to me during break, he said 'I'd like to shake your hand, I'm Barry McGuire, I wrote that song you just sang.'"

That meeting happened in the 1970s. A more recent meeting he had was with the band Houndmouth, which he said visits frequently.

Confederate Railroad also came to the bar after Bir opened up for them at the New Albany Amphitheater.

Regulars at the bar says that Hugh E. Bir's is the best bar in the city and they have the coldest beer around.

"It's not the Taj Mahal or anything like that, but we make do," Bir said.