Devastating Fire In Athens Sad News For OU Alums in NE Ohio

Ohio Many of the 22,000-plus Ohio University alumni who live in the Akron-Cleveland area will be saddened to hear that one of the main downtown Athens blocks sustained heavy damage in a fire early Sunday, Nov. 16.

The block – the north side of the first uptown block of West Union Street – contains several buildings that housed the Union Bar and Grill, former Campus Sundry, Smoke Zone Smoke Shop, Jackie O’s Public House, Jack Neal Floral and Kismet clothing store.

Some 40 OU students who lived in upstairs apartments in the buildings damaged in the fire were displaced, and the university is helping them with relocation. Several students, firefighters and police officers suffered injuries in the fire, with some being transported to the local hospital. None of the injuries appeared serious, according to a report in The Athens NEWS.

Monday afternoon, Athens Fire Chief Robert Rymer told a group of property owners that investigators think the fire started in the Kismet clothing store at 16 W. Union St. No cause had been identified as of yet, however.

The Ohio University “Fact Book,” a publication put out by OU’s Office of Institutional Research, states that in fall semester of 2013, 4,048 current OU students hailed from six counties around Cleveland and Akron (Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit, Lake and Geauga). Some 22,500 OU alumni lived in the same counties (plus Portage County), according to the Fact Book.

Many of these alumni likely spent quality time while in college as patrons of the Union Bar and Grill, one of the oldest bars in southeast Ohio, reportedly dating back to around 1925. This is even more likely if the alums enjoyed live music. Both the Union (which appears to be a total loss) and Jackie O’s Public House, next door, were popular live-music venues in Athens. While Jackie O’s sustained less damage than the Union, it could be a while before it’s back in action.

Already, however, patrons and supporters of the two bars are scheduling fundraisers, both real and crowd-sourcing, to raise money to rebuild the two bars and help out employees of businesses in the damaged buildings.

The Union – celebrated nationally several years ago by Maxim magazine as a quality “dive bar” – has hosted many bands that went on to gain wide success, including the Afghan Whigs, the Ramones, Guided by Voices, the White Stripes and Black Keys. When the Black Keys performed several years ago, a large contingent of student fans chanted “Akron, Akron, Akron,” referring to the band’s hometown.

The smaller Jackie O’s Brewery, on the other side of the Public House from the Union, appeared to avoid serious damage from the fire. Jackie O’s Brewery formerly operated as O’Hooley’s Irish Pub and the Graduate.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the State Fire Marshal and Athens Fire Department were still investigating the fire, which apparently started around 4 a.m. Sunday.