Johnny D's hosts grand opening

Saturday saw the grand opening of Blackwell's newest old-time favorite, Johnny D's Lounge on north Main Street.

Johnny D's Lounge, known as Sudsuckers for more than 20 years, officially reopened in July to a full house of patrons. The next logical question for the operators of the family-run business was: When is the grand opening?

Saturday afternoon saw a full house of Blackwellites stop by for a fish fry, with beer specials and giveaways offered throughout the day.

Namesake and owner Johnny Dice said the grand opening was more than he could have imagined.

“We knew people would show up, but the amount was way more than we could have dreamed,” Dice said, echoing his sentiments from the bar's opening week.

In the month since it first opened, Johnny D's has installed an electronic dart board and added beverages to its menu. The establishment now offers several new drinks, including in-demand seltzers.

Koozies were given away, fish were fried, beer was poured, and cars and trucks were lined up across the gravel parking lot spanning from Main Street to 1st Street until the bar shut down early Sunday morning.

Dice said the thing he was most proud of was bringing people together.

“Ever since we opened, we've had crowds come through that never had been in there before,” he said. “We've had so many new faces, and we've got support from the newcomers and the regulars. It was really great to see everyone having fun and being that comfortable around each other.”

Johnny D's has two pool tables, re-arranged seating, new lighting, and an ATM. The bar is still cash-only. Johnny D's currently has several bottled, tap import, and domestic beer options. The bar also offers “beer buckets” and Cayman Jacks.

The bar’s owners are looking into serving wine in the near future, as well as purchasing a four-tap kegerator.

The bar conducts pool tournaments every Tuesday and dart tournaments every Thursday, with draft beer specials on tournament nights.

The bar is open from 3 - 10 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. - 1 a.m. on weekends.