Vince Thompson has always had a love for Auburn tradition. An Auburn alum and successful businessman in Atlanta for the last 25 years, he's hoping to keep some of that tradition alive by bringing back the War Eagle Supper Club to Auburn.
Thompson attended Auburn during the golden years after leaving his hometown of Chatham, Alabama.
"I worked my way through Auburn in sports information from 80 to 84 when Bo was there and Barkley was there and Coach Dye," Thompson told 1819 News. "So, the Supper Club was, you know, a rite of passage. It was where you got your heart broken, too."
In the 1980s, another man, John Brandt, took a partnership in the War Eagle Supper Club. While Thompson enjoyed the music and hung out with friends, Brandt ran a business and shuttled students back and forth to help them return home safely after a night of drinking. The two had no idea that 40 years later, their paths would cross and bring back what is arguably the most famous college dive bar in the world.
Thompson found out the War Eagle Supper Club was closing in 2015, and ever since, he has been brainstorming ways to bring it back.
"I'm like, you know, I wouldn't mind reopening that club one day because it broke a lot of major musical acts," Thompson said. "So, in the summer of 2021, because COVID had kind of impacted my business, I thought, 'I'd like to go license that name and open the club back up."
Thompson purchased the trademark for one dollar and started making calls.
"I had caught wind that a firm called AJ Capital had acquired the former Anders Bookstore site on Magnolia Avenue to build a Graduate Hotel near the Auburn campus," he explained. "I further knew that they always like to put a famous local rooftop bar on each one of their hotels because there's about 35 or 40 of them; Knoxville, Oxford, Athens, you know all of these places."
"This is an amazing, amazing company," he said.
He tracked down the hotel's builders, met with an attorney and city officials in Auburn and was given the greenlight at every turn. But there was one more thing he wanted to do before going ahead with the project.
"I went down and had lunch with John Brandt and said, 'I'm not going to do this without your permission and I want you to be included in this, no matter how it turns out; if it turns out," Thompson remembered.
Brandt was excited about the idea and even contributed stories and memorabilia for the new location. Even Auburn University got in on the act by doing a sub-license to allow the rooftop bar to open.
The 200-seat bar is expected to open its doors in mid-September.
The iconic "shot bus" will also be a part of the bar.
"We tried to restore the old bus; it wasn't possible, so they replicated the bus, which would become a mainstay and a visible tradition within Auburn," said Thompson. "The bus is going to make appearances at football games and they'll pass out promotional merchandise and will have celebrity drivers."
"It will tote kids around campus," he continued. "When their parents are in town, there will be alumni photo-ops and those types of things."
The new War Eagle Supper Club will also feature the original pizza, made from a 50-year-old secret recipe. Brandt gave Thompson a copy of the original handwritten recipe, which will be framed at the new location.
Other features at the bar will include membership cards, an old tip jug, the original pizza pan, and a view of Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The new location will be more sophisticated than the old cinder-block building of the original bar. However, Thompson wants the memories to be just as great. He has a long-term agreement to participate in the operations at the War Eagle Supper Club. His hope is that the traditions he so greatly appreciates continue through generations.
"It's a major deal for the city, the university, the alumni, the future kids and the parents," said Thompson.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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