THE DUGOUT BAR
By Duncan
What do these three studs have in common? Well, almost nothing. We graduated from the same Pike High School back in 1962.
STEPHEN A DUNCAN - JAMES (JIM) KITTLE JR. - JOHN (ETCH) ETCHISON @ THE DUGOUT
There’s nothing like meeting your old-school chums at a neighborhood bar. I am not talking about one of those fancy corporate or franchise operations with everything inside brand spanking new, with televisions on the wall as big as a house. I’m talking about a place that has stood the test of time. The Dugout Bar was started in 1954 by a mom-and-pop operation that’s been around forever. So, it was decided. “Let’s meet at the Dugout.”
DUGOUT - 602 Virginia Ave, (Fountain Square) Indianapolis, Indiana.
Jack and Gwen Wagner started the Dugout in 1954. It became commonly known as Wagner's Dugout. Jack was an amazing softball pitcher and sponsored a fast-pitch team based out of the Dugout. His teams in the 50's and 60's were widely regarded as Indy's best! Card games and horse betting were commonplace at the Dugout during their ownership. The Wagners owned the Dugout until the late 90's.
DUGOUT - 602 Virginia Ave, (Fountain Square Area) Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tom Ford purchased the Dugout from the Wagners, along with Becky and Lance Langsford as his partners. This partnership was short-lived.
Tom Ford and Nick Baxter
The current owners, Nick Baxter and Layton John (John, not shown in the picture) purchased the Dugout from Tom Ford on June 1st, 2017, and are leading the next chapter of the Dugout!
Jim Kittle and I are eating lunch at MCL on 86th Street in Indianapolis. He suggested we get together for lunch before he heads back to Sarasota, Florida, for the winter.
MCL Cafeterias caters to a mature demographic. So I had to ask myself,
“What the hell was I doing there?” (That’s a whole different story.)
MCL began in 1950 with a single cafeteria located at 38th Street and Sherman Drive in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded by Charles O. McGaughey and George Laughner.
In 1973, Laughner retired from the business, and McGaughey bought out Laughner’s share of the enterprise the following year. At this point, MCL became wholly owned by the McGaughey family.
MCL is an abbreviation of McGaughey and Laughner, their two names. Today, the chain operates 13 locations in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. It is a privately owned company, now exclusively owned by the McGaughey family.
In 1987, Craig McGaughey, son of the cofounder, purchased all outstanding shares of the company from relatives to become MCL’s sole owner.
THE DUGOUT BAR
Darlene, (Behind the bar), our waitress, has been working at the Dugout for 15 years. She has gone through several ownership changes. She is a busy gal trying to handle the lunch bunch by herself.
We ordered our pork tenderloin sandwiches and crispy tater tots; I asked Darlene about the general business environment at the Dugout.
“With the economy the way it is, is it affecting the Dugout’s business?”
“Oh no, we are fine! In fact, our supplier tells us that we, “The Dugout,” sell the most Miller Lite beer than any other place in Indiana. Oh, and we also sell a lot of Jameson Irish Whiskey.”
“So the guys who deliver the beer in the big long trucks are telling you that the Dugout sells more Miller Lite than any other bar, store, or grocery in Indiana? That begs the question, "How is your Bud Lite Business?”
“Bud Lite? There is no business for Bed Light! In fact, we pulled all of the products out of here. No one wants to buy Bud Lite, can or draft. It’s gone. We don’t even stock the product.”
I noticed Sunday while watching the Indianapolis Colts play the Tennessee Titans, Bud Lite had a commercial where they had the LOGO of the New Orleans Saints on a Bud Lite can. That was odd. No one can put the LOGO of an NFL team on their product without permission from the NFL.
I picked up my cell phone and Googled the question. “NFL LOGO, Bud Lite cans?”
“According to the Wall Street Journal, Anheuser-Busch will pay the NFL $1.4 billion for the ability to use the NFL LOGOs, which works out to more than $7 million for each team, every year of the sponsorship.”
The Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings are not included in this deal because of their current sponsorship with MillerCoors.
“We know that the association of the NFL and teams is having a positive impact on Bud Light,” said Bud Light Vice President Alexander Lambrecht.
“We want to make sure that we can become much more locally relevant in the way we design the campaign.”
Mighty big money when you’re talking beer and the NFL.
JIM KITTLE - JOHN ETCHISON
While having our lunch, Jim, John, and I, touched on several subjects of interest. Different Pike ClassMates, and of course, the obligatory subjects we should have left alone. Sex, Politics, and Religion. We stayed away from Religion, but we did hammer the local and national political situation. I’ll leave it there.
I was at the Dugout Bar before. Back in my “single days,” it was a place to meet members of the opposite sex. (Am I allowed to say there is an opposite sex?)
There are large office buildings in the neighborhood with lots of people who need a place to have lunch, and I was introduced many times to the Dugout for lunch.
It’s been years, let’s call it 20 years since I have walked through the doors. It is still a hidden gem, a “hole in the wall” tucked away in the Fletcher Place neighborhood, just two minutes south of downtown Indianapolis. It still has that neighborhood feel, with terrific bar food, friendly staff, and a laid-back atmosphere. Oh, and by the way, I guess they offer Jameson Irish Whiskey and Miller Lite if you are inclined.
The picture on top of this article of Jim Kittle, John Etchison, and myself was taken by an unknown customer who I was told lives in Martinsville and works in Indianapolis. I looked over at his table, which was against the wall, and simply asked him if he would take our picture. He got up and came over and took the picture.
“Who are you? What’s your name?”
“Doesn’t matter.” he said.
