Final last call at old Century Bar to include Jager, big New Year’s bash

Century Bar’s hole-in-the-wall past will be focus of special celebration to mark end of era at original location.

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Slayer and Waylon Jennings music will play and cherry and Jager bombs, Miller High Life and PBR will be served at one of the nation’s most celebrated bourbon bars as it bids adieu to the decade and its original location.

>> Century Bar announces closing date for original location 

 

Century Bar co-owner Joseph Head and long-time bartenders Tim Fry and Jerrod Claytor will salute the bar's hole-in-the-wall past by serving a limited menu of old favorites from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31.

Heavy metal and classic country will be on the playlist.

>> PHOTOS: Last call for historic Century Bar at original location

Century Bar dates back to 1942 under that name and at its current location, 10 S. Jefferson St.

The Century Bar in downtown Dayton is known for a vast selection of bourbons and whiskeys. LISA POWELL / STAFF

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The business, known mostly as a restaurant when co-owner Diane Spitzig purchased it 23 years ago, shifted to a bourbon bar in 2011 and has since earned national recognition.

The Century is moving next door to 18 S. Jefferson St. It is expected to reopen in early 2020.

New Year’s Eve will be its final night at the current historic location.

The Century Bar has a huge selection of bourbon and whiskeys. LISA POWELL / STAFF

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The bar will close after a toast and reopen at 9 p.m. for those who reserve a $30-a-person seat for the New Year’s Eve Party with the regular offerings.

It will open to the general public at 10 p.m. Admission will be $10 a person.

>> What will happen to the Century Bar’s famed bar?

The final toast at the original location will happen around 1:30 a.m.

Carved maidens and stained glass are highlights of the historic back bar at downtown Dayton's Century Bar. LISA POWELL / STAFF

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Head encourages patrons to come to Century for one last drink or photo.

A historic back bar is the centerpiece of the Century Bar in downtown Dayton. Frank Steffen is said to have purchased the back bar around 1924 for Steffen’s, a male-only “coffee shop” that opened in the Century’s space three years after the Great Dayton Flood of 1913.  LISA POWELL / STAFF

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“This space means a lot to people. I met my wife here,” he said. “I know lots of friends who met their wives here and then went home and had babies. I think this is an important piece of Dayton history.”

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