Nick's English Hut undergoes facelift

When it comes to renovations, Nick’s English Hut on Kirkwood Avenue is starting from the ground up. Literally.

The iconic IU-themed restaurant started with heavy construction Monday. Owner Gregg Rago and wife Susan Bright were personally ripping out the first-floor bar.

“When in doubt, just break it,” Bright said.

She was ripping out electrical work and computer wires that had gone obsolete over a decade ago – the electricians that did work before her did not remove their old work.

“'Why don’t you get rid of them?'” Bright said rhetorically. “Well, that’s not our job.”

Starting at 8 a.m., Bright and “Rags” worked together to completely dismantle the bar, dig up the floor and clean up the unthinkable mess of the elderly bar.

The result was a mess of hidden sticky, musty areas under the floor caused by generations of customers.

“Yeah, that’s Kahlua,” Bright said. “I put my hand in it and smelled it, that’s Kahlua. It’s been back there awhile.”

Even the areas not visible to customers downstairs were starting to age.

“It was really beaten up,” Rago said. “It was falling apart. There was stuff in back that…it was gonna die.”

Once the residue and mayhem of construction gets cleaned up, Rago said Nick’s will ultimately be a tidier, more sparkling version of the restaurant many Hoosiers still call home. Construction should be finished by late June.

Rago said he plans for the new floor to be an epoxied layer of red and black sparkles. The bar, which had previously served its role through crumbling pieces of formica, will be replaced by Indiana timber and quartz.

“We’re keeping it as ‘Nick’s’ as possible,” he said.

The lower level of the eatery is currently out of commission due to the construction, but customers can still find service upstairs in the Hoosier Room or a section designated for all ages. A makeshift sign placed on Nick’s front door was not able to re-direct all interested patrons.

“I stood out at lunch so I could direct traffic to the Hoosier Room,” Bright said. “It’s funny.”

In the meantime, Bright and Rago said various pieces of the downstairs Nick’s bar will find new and curious homes. A variety of items will be donated to the Monroe County schools with the purpose of auction and charity fundraising. Some bar supplies will go to “Klinkers,” another wood-based bar in Princeton, Ind.

A family friend is even transforming a former beer cooler into a cattle trough.

Nick’s was founded in 1927 as a cigarette and candy shop, Rago said. Once prohibition ended, the establishment began to sell alcohol, and eventually became the “English Hut” establishment Kirkwood embraces.

“We’ve had a lot of phone calls in the last few weeks,” Bright said. “‘Don’t change anything!’”

Monday’s construction started with a thorough dismantling of the bottom section and laborious physical tasks. Come 5:30 p.m., the duo of Bright and Rago would celebrate with – what else – two draft beers in the now open foyer they had created.

“I go through all sorts of emotions from sad to happy to excited,” Bright said. “So many people come through here. We’re really gonna put it together for the same character. I’m feeling all the past history now as I’m on my hands and knees.”