Nick's celebrates its 75th anniversary

Seventy-five years ago Nick Hrisomalos, a Greek immigrant, purchased a piece of land on Kirkwood Avenue and opened up a sandwich shop named "Nick's English Hut." Ironically enough, that same year Dick Barnes, current co-owner of Nick's, was born. July 3rd will mark 75 years for Nick's English Hut and Dick Barnes' 75th birthday.\n"We're having a private invitation only party on July 3rd for friends and regular customers," Rex Barnes, Dick's son, says. "We will be celebrating our 75th year of business and Dad's 75th birthday."\nHrisomalos ran the Hut until he died in 1953, then his wife Katina took over. Dick Barnes was a good friend of Nick and Katina's son Frank. In 1957, the IU graduate found himself the owner of Nick's, but says he didn't even think about changing the name for fear it would change the tradition.\nDick's son Rex, now co-owner and general manager, began working at Nick's when he was 18 and hasn't left the place yet.\n"I've been co-owner and general manager for almost 8 years," Rex says. "Dad and I have made a lot of changes to the place since it first opened. When Dad bought Nick's in 1957 the legal seating capacity was 75, and since all the adding on we've done, the seating capacity is almost 475."\nWith more seating and more college students and alumni coming in year after year, Dick says he hasn't seen much of a change in their cliental. \n"We've always been a place that anyone can come to," Dick says. "We've got construction workers with mud on their boots sitting across the isle from the president of the University."\nRex agreed with his father.\n"Our cliental and target is anyone from your 21-year-old college student to your 89-year-old grandmother," Rex says. "We don't target just one section like a lot of other bars in town do."\nRobyn Shelly, a 1999 IU graduate, says she remembers the comfortable atmosphere of Nick's and how it was a great place to go just to spend time with friends. Just hearing the word "Nick's" reminded Shelly of stories she had forgotten about.\n"I remember being able to go and just sit in a booth with your friends and talk," Shelly says. "There wasn't a need for black pants or tank tops; it's such a diverse place where anyone can go and feel in place. I specifically remember the time we went to eat there, and we were seated next to a bunch of coaches from IU sports teams. You never know who you might run into at Nick's."\nNick's English Hut is known for a wide variety of things. From the famous Bloomington Stromboli sauce to the Bucket Brigade that started in the '70s, Nick's is full of tradition and stories. One of Nick's most popular pastimes is "Sink the Bismark," but there's a lot of mystery around how the popular game came about.\n"To this day, no one knows exactly how 'Sink the Bismark' started. It only became popular starting in the '80s. Before then, the Bucket Brigade were the only players, and it was a very exclusive club," Rex says. "You had to have a bucket on a hook at Nick's in order to order a bucket."\nRex saw how this exclusive drinking game would be fun for everyone and made it available for anyone to play. On any given night one can walk into Nick's and see at least one table of college students huddled around a bucket full of beer, trying not to "sink the biz."\nThe good food, the drinking games and the memories are what keep people coming back to Nick's.\n"When I go down to visit my friends in the Bloomington area, I know we won't go out to Kilroy's or the Bird," Shelly says. "We'll definitely go to Nick's because of the laid back atmosphere and the memories we've already made there when we were in college."\nIt's hard to ignore the 75 years of history imprinted on the walls of Nick's English Hut. There isn't a space on the walls that isn't covered with pictures or autographs. IU memorabilia has always made Nick's a popular place to watch the Hoosiers sports teams play on television. Almost every booth has a regular customer that is well known or famous. John Mellencamp even has his own booth.\nThe wall that holds the most value to Rex is the upstairs wall covered in autographs.\n"Nick Nolte is my favorite," Rex says as he scans the many signatures on the wall. "Dave Wannstedt, head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Don Larson, Larry Bird, Bob Knight, John Walsh; the list just keeps going."\nRex chuckled when he came across the signature of Chris Darden, one of the district attorneys for the O.J. Simpson case. Darden wrote down how he felt about the outcome of the trial.\nAll the well-known visitors to Nick's don't compare to the good times Dick and Rex have had during IU basketball games.\n"I think the Final Four in my 10 years here is the craziest time we've had," Rex says. "There are idiots in every crowd, but as a whole, everything was well maintained. Nick's is unique in the respect that a lot of people don't tear this place up. People respect Nick's and know it's full of history and tradition."\nThe 75 years of history and tradition will be celebrated with the public on July 5 when an art competition and auction will be held.\n"Coach DiNardo will be speaking among other coaches," Rex says. "We've got lots of great things to auction off and all the proceeds will benefit the Monroe County Humane Association."\nJust a few of the items to be auctioned off include a dinner with football coach Gerry DiNardo, a workout with Kenny Aronoff, a basketball signed by Mike Davis, rock climbing lessons, IU memorabilia and lots more. Dick and Rex look forward to raising the money for the Humane Association.\nRex is still looking ahead into the future and doesn't expect things at Nick's to slow down anytime soon.\n"If in the last 75 years the seating has increased by almost 400, you've got to expect more great things in the future," Rex says. "In another 25 years when we celebrate our 100th anniversary, I expect business to be as thriving as it ever has been."\nSINK THE BISMARK\n• The game is played by filling a bucket with beer. A small empty glass is dropped in the bucket, and players take turns pouring beer from their cup into the glass in the bucket. The person who pours to much beer in the glass, causing it sink, must pound the beer in the sunken glass.\n• Sink the Bismark started at Nick's sometime in the '80s, soon after the drinking game Quarters was banned from the bar.\n• Each bucket holds 52oz. of beer.\n• Nick's keeps around 260 personal buckets on hand as members of its "Bucket Brigade."\n• To obtain a coveted spot in the Brigade, buckets must be willed from a previous owner.\n• Buckets that go unused for a very long time are sometimes retired, making room for new members.