nestle on a corner in theWholesale Districtis the Slippery Noodle Inn , Indy ’s oldest bar and an institution . Today , locals and tourists head to the Noodle to listen to live blue sky music seven nights a hebdomad , but this 170 - year - old stripe is jam - compact with history that scramble barely beneath the surface .
There were many public figure give to theSlippery Noodle Innbefore it garner its featherbrained ( and potentially euphemistic ) one . The space opened in 1850 as The Tremont House , a tap house owned by a German immigrant , then became the Concordia House ( 1860 ) , Germania House ( through WWI ) , Beck ’s Saloon ( after WWI ) , Moore ’s Beer Tavern ( before Prohibition ) , then Moore ’s Restaurant ( during inhibition ) , back to Moore ’s Beer Tavern ( after inhibition ) , and then Boris ’ Place ( recent 1940s ) .
At multiplication in between , the construction was a stop on the Underground Railroad , produced beer in the cellar during forbiddance , was the scene of a John Dillinger shooting ( hummer holes remain as “ validation ” ) , and was even a brothel . In fact , if you ask the owner nicely , you might be invited upstairs to glance into some of the elbow room – many of which have been retrovert to their earlier decor , complete with one small bed and a hole in the floor board to squirrel away cash , drug , or perhaps the dame herself .
Hal Yeagy|Courtesy of The Slippery Noodle Inn
hinge on all that history is the whim that the space could still be visited by the extrasensory residential district . We ’ll go forth that feeling up to you and the hairs on the back of your neck .
But while you could slip in at the Noodle back in the day , it ’s long been a category validation . Hal Yeagy ’s family line has own Slippery Noodle since the sixties , but he personally consider it over in the mid-’80s and has been running the junction ever since . Under his management , the Noodle has metamorphose from bar and eating house into a staple of the local music scene ( with a act of interior bombilation , too ) .
Blues reign supreme at the Noodle , though you ’ll hear other types of euphony as well . While Yeagy dreams of having Eric Clapton impose the Noodle , he ’s had all types of musicians discontinue by . He ’s met Dan Ackroyd multiple prison term ; Billy Joel ’s stopped by without a keyboard ; Gene Simmons record up even just to show off his tongue . John Mellencamp , the Allman Brothers , Jason Bonham , Kid Rock – you name it .
Carson Quinn
“ There was no well - think - out business plan . It was ‘ I ’m going to take over , we ’re going to add euphony – oh turd we ’re busy ! We need to expand , we need new restrooms , we want to be bigger , ” said Yeagy .
He ’s spread out the building at least four metre over , first with one phase , then another , then an atrium and a ruined cellar . He may be the leader , but it ’s a family - owned establishment – his sons are require , his employees have work for him for eld , and Yeagy is very proud of what it has become .
So while Indy grows , how do we get to enjoy such a gem for all these year ? Yeagy sat down with Thrillist to give his chronicle on the place , and what ’s next for the Noodle .
Courtesy of The Slippery Noodle Inn
Thrillist: So, c’mon, what does “Slippery Noodle” really mean?
Yeagy : My dad was a clowning writer during World War II , and he could n’t go fight when everyone else was fighting , so he ended up with the USO duty tour writing comedy and performing in microscope stage dramatic play . He kept writing comedy as meter went on – he always had a bit of a different streak .
tight - forward to when my parents buy the topographic point in the sixties . It was called Boris ' Place , describe after its possessor Boris Petercheff . Dad did n’t desire to call it that ; Dad also did n’t want to call it Harold ’s Place , [ because ] Dad went by Harold .
My two brothers are both older than me , and were throwing public figure out , and Dad threw out " Slippery Noodle Inn " because he require something with the Word of God " Inn " in it , even though that part of the station had been shut down for class . The Slippery Noodle part was part of a catch phrase he had used in part of his comedy writing .
Courtesy of The Slippery Noodle
So , he allege “ Slippery Noodle : once you heard it , you fuck you ’d recall it . " Ultimately , depending on your frame of judgment , it ’s a double entendre .
You took this over from your parents in the 1980s. Why?
I have two older brother who worked here back in the early sixties , when my mummy and pappa bought the place . One of them even wrote a letter to them say it was n’t deserving a " plug Ni . " And it was n’t at the time , there was nothing Downtown . But because I grew up in the lieu , I never translate why they kept saying it was n’t deserving take over .
My dad was diabetic , and over the twelvemonth he had lose one leg . He still bartended , he was blind . But the only matter we had at the time was the very front bar room . My momma would come in every day . We were only open until lunch at the clip . They ’d open up at 10 in the morning and close at 6 Prime Minister and I would come down after I make off of work at Lilly and stockpile their beer for them and help them clean and poppycock . My pop fail into the infirmary and passed away during surgery to move out his other leg .
So , while I had a well job , my kids were living in Houston with my ex . All of a sudden my mom was stuck running the place by herself . There were some people wanting to buy it from her for like nothing . Being a small business enterprise , your retirement is what you ’ve got and what you own at the time .
Courtesy of The Slippery Noodle
I taste working both for about six months and then one day I amount into the legal profession and handed mom my resignation missive at Lilly .
How did the Noodle start hosting bands?
One of the things that I want to do was get medicine in the position . I started keeping it open past 6 post-mortem , to have a piece of nightlife here . Indy started to get a couple short nightclubs Downtown . I was remodeling what we call " The Old Music Room " in the summertime of ' 85 . It accept us 10 calendar month to get it ready .
In 1986 , we start doing our " blueness Jam " on the front point , and have been doing that ever since – it at first was ring the " Working Man ’s Blues Jam " because it started at 5 o’clock after oeuvre , then it moved to 5:30 , then it moved to 6 , and it finally was set about at like 10 o’clock at night … and now it starts at 8:30 . But we ’re the longest - running jam in the state , because it ’s been continuous since 1986 .
I had been date Carol , who is now my wife , and we got get married in 1987 . She has made sure that the home has kept the same spirit over all the years – not to remark she has booked all of the bands for the last 15 - plus years .
One night a caboodle of waiters fromSt . Elmo Steak House– this was the mid- to late ‘ eighty – add up in and wanted to play . They had the place packed and charged like a $ 2 cover . When they finished they looked at me and say " How much farsighted you gon na be doin’folk euphony ? " So then we started playing more blue and building in more bands , and just kind of centering around blues .
We bring meddlesome and busier and opened up the back elbow room in May of 1990 . So we moved the band from the front stage to the back level . We had all the music back there for about nine months until it was built back up and we started doing two circle on the weekend , and we ’ve been doing that ever since . By the start of 1991 , we were doing two bands every weekend .
Because we have n’t try on to be the blistering new place or deepen with the clock time , we ’ve stuck to what we know . The level ’s been updated a few time , the stage have been update , everything has shift , but it has n’t . It still looks near to the same , and we do that on purpose .
Why did you choose the blues and why is it so popular?
Blues euphony , somehow , I figured out that I like it well . No finicky intellect other than it ’s what I like . I had spring up up with rock ' n ' roll , but a lot of their root word came from blues . I intend if I was going to be here six or seven days a calendar week , it had to be something I liked .
As they say , " the blues had a baby and they named it ' rock ' n ' ringlet , ' " so uprise up with rock and roll ' n ' bowl and just change it back . A portion of it is the same or interchangeable music , just how loud or how amplified it ’s played .
Incognito or on stage, who’s shown up at the Noodle?
Every artist is a slight second unlike . Some travel with an entourage because they want everybody to know that they ’re who they say they are . Others dress down and take the air in with a high-pitched schooltime chum , and unless somebody takes a good look at them , they can sit here all night long and not be recognized .
John Mellencamp has been in the place , but his band has been in here continuously in the early days . Larry Crane , his guitarist and co - songster , just play here a few weeks ago . But since Mellencamp did n’t really drink he ’d say , " expert gig guys " and then he would leave .
Some more famous people walk in and need to play , some do n’t want to play . Some of them want to represent unlike instruments than what they normally play . Which can be fun , at fourth dimension .
We hadGregg Allmancome in , and he played the entireAllman Brothers ’ showthat they were playing the next night , other than he was represent the guitar and had someone else playing keyboard behind him . It did n’t quite sound like the Allman Brothers doing it .
One of my favorite taradiddle is ofKid Rockon Race Weekend . I did n’t have it away much about him . He comes in , he ’s got his entourage around him , his long whisker and his hat . He ’s in the back way with his group and all of a sudden he ’s like " I want to work . " So I ’m like , " fine , follow me . " So we walked around andGene Deer Bandwas playing on point . I said " Gene , Kid Rock want to toy . "
So Gene gives him a guitar and Kid Rock gets on phase to huddle up and talk real quick to see what they ’re gon na play together . reverse out Kid Rock , years ago used to play blues ; that night he was on stagecoach for more than an time of day playing blues with Gene . Both seemed to have a good metre .
That said , we cover everyone the same . If they require to follow in and have a swallow and hear to the euphony , great . If they require to roleplay , great . We do ask the band that ’s already playing on stage if they ’re concerned in having this person join them , and typically they say yes , but we give them the choice .
Jason Bonhamhas been in a few times . I did n’t know who he was , other people did , but I knew his dad fromLed Zeppelin .
Back whenBilly Joelcame in in the ' eighty , before societal media , he walk in the door and my doorman say to him " You front a fate like Billy Joel but you ’re too bloody short . " And then Billy Joel depend back at him and said " I am Billy Joel , " and walked right by him . We did n’t have a keyboard at the time , but his band played for a good glob of the night because we had all their instruments . He came back the next Nox and we had chop-chop gotten a keyboard for him . His security measure would n’t let him out of the prevention , but again his band fiddle the 2nd night as well .
When some artist derive through , they stay in a house we have particularly for artists . Sarah Potenza , who was onThe Voice , was here all the fourth dimension until she buzz off on the show . She and her husband will come through town and they ’ll stay at the house .
Indiana hosted the Governor ’s Conference in 2002 or 2003 . They out of the blue angel yell us up and enounce they wanted to have a political party here . We say OK . They said , " You realise you have to close it to the public , no one else can total in . " We said OK . " You realise you ’ve start to countenance us bring Secret Service through with bomb calorimeter dogs . " So they came through and look the entire construction .
There were about 35 of the governors along with their staff , all at once . I ’m out front with two of my staff members [ when ] a yellow cab effort up andGene Simmons from KISSgets out and seek to walk in . Secret Service stops him and says , " Sorry sir , we ’re close for a secret company . " He ’s like sighing , and then he says , " I ’m Gene Simmons . " The Secret Service kinda looks at each other and says " Oh well , he kind of is . " They take his ID and ran his ID and then after like 20 minute of arc they get him in . He walked into the back way , he ’s just baby-sit there , not really having a clue what the political party is . Then a couple of the governor ' wife noticed him and kept ask him to adhere his knife out . That was one of the funniest damn things in the world . Since then , he come in whenever he ’s in town .
How has social media affected the Slippery Noodle?
Before societal media and Twitter and Facebook and all that , if someone noted came in , there was a rush to the pay speech sound to tell everybody . Now , social media is so riotous that word gets out quickly . That said , many stars do n’t like their photos direct when they ’re just seek to be regular patrons , so that changes thing a bit . But overall , it ’s gotten the countersign out quicker than before . Sometimes someone will tweet something out and the next affair we know one-half of Downtown is at the door .
As Indy is growing, how does it feel to be the owner of such an institution?
I ’m very proud of it . I still think of it like we ’re one little measure , on one little corner , in one little metropolis . It ’s not like we ’re changing the globe , but we certainly do our best to make it a better place in this one little arena .
[ Yeagy begins to tear up ] I wear out my pa ’s wedding ring and my mom ’s diamond . I had the two piece of music put together after my mama go . I think about them every mean solar day . I ’ve always been a someone that believe that if it needs to be done , do it , and do n’t worry about it , and moderate by example . That ’s why I think my staff has stayed with me for so long .
It read a set to keep the position scarper , and every hardening of hand can be used . Both my boys work out here and have for yr . They ’ll take over the business . I get out with one little room , with one other employee . So we ’ve grow . It ’s not a huge business organisation , but we work hard to adapt to the growth of Indianapolis .
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