Manuel's Tavern is a historic

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

in the

Poncey–Highland Poncey–Highland is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located south of Virginia–Highland. It is so named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and north/southwest North Highland Ave ...

district of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. Established by

Manuel Maloof Manuel Joseph Maloof (May 10, 1924–August 7, 2004) was the Chief Executive Officer and Commission Chairman of DeKalb County, Georgia, prominent Atlanta politician and owner of Manuel's Tavern, a popular Atlanta bar. Early life Manuel Maloof w ...

in 1956, the location is notable as a meeting place for influential people in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 2020.

History

Manuel's Tavern was established in 1956 by

. The building itself is a commercial building from around 1922. To encourage discussions between patrons, Maloof banned

live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

and

jukeboxes A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

in the establishment. The bar is notable as a venue and meeting place for members of the

. In 1970,

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

announced his gubernatorial campaign in the bar. In 2015, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

visited the bar during a visit to Atlanta, playing a game of

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the ...

at the location. Maloof himself was politically active, being elected to the

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missou ...

Board of commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

in 1974. In the 1980s, two additional locations were opened on Memorial Drive and near

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

, though both locations closed within a short time. In 1984, the tavern hosted a stage production of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has ...

'', leading to what would eventually become

Shakespeare Tavern The Shakespeare Tavern is an Elizabethan playhouse located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Starting productions at Manuel's Tavern in Atlanta in 1984, the Tavern moved to 499 Peachtree Street in 1990. The Shakespeare Tavern is h ...

, a prominent playhouse and acting group in Atlanta. In 2015, Brian Maloof, son of Manuel Maloof, sold the bar to developers. The bar closed in December of that year for extensive renovations, with the bar reopening in July the next year. In 2017, plans were unveiled by Manuel's grandson for a spin-off eatery in Grant Park, called Manny's Grant Park Pub. On May 29, 2020, the tavern was added to the

. In November 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Maloof announced that the tavern was experiencing financial difficulties and could possibly close by the end of the year. Following this, a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

was set up with a goal of raising $75,000 for the tavern. This goal was met within the first 24 hours, and within several days had raised over $180,000 for the tavern.

References

External links

* {{Poncey–Highland Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places Taverns in Georgia (U.S. state) 1956 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Commercial buildings completed in 1922 National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta

History

See also

References

External links