Tim "The Ripper" Owens, best known for his current band Charred Walls Of The Damned and formerly fronting Iced Earth and Judas Priest, has a restaurant/bar. Did you know that? I sure as hell did not know that until a close friend of mine pointed out that he saw Owens' restaurant was going to be on Spike TV's Bar Rescue this Sunday.
The place is located in Akron, Ohio on Manchester Road and is now called Tim Owens' Traveler's Tavern. According to Ohio.com, the bar was visited in August by bar-and-nightclub consultant Jon Taffer and, considering the fact that the establishment is still open, it's probably doing pretty well.
Here's what Owens had to say about the makeover, before and after.
“In this day and age, even being open for two years is good,” Owens said at the time. “But we’ve never made any money. We’re gradually losing money, and people don’t see that. If people see one show going on, or a show on the weekend, they think, ‘You guys are doing really good.’ But they forget what happens Sunday to Thursday.”
In its new form, the Tavern has a more elaborately lit stage with fog machine, new chairs and tables (the latter with large replicas of passport stamps in the middle) and changes in the wall decorations, including a map of all the places Owens has found ideas for the restaurant’s World Tour Of Wings. There are still more passport stamps on the side of the spruced-up bar.
The name change “is about what I do,” Owens has said. “I travel the world. I bring back these sauces” for the wings. Some people have also felt the name reflects the location. The tavern is across the street from Nesmith Lake, where the old Young’s hotel and restaurant long welcomed travelers and diners before its closing in 2004 and demolition six years later.
So hey- if you're in the Akron area, hit the place up and let us know how it is!
