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In what can only be described as The Best News Ever, Happy Dog partners Eric Williams, Sean Kilbane and Sean Watterson will open an eastside version of their popular bar and restaurant in a space that rivals the original in terms of historic appeal: the Euclid Tavern.

“What I love about the space is that it’s not all big box and shiny-new,” Williams explains. “The Euclid Tavern is lived-in — it’s got some history and life to it.”

The Euclid Tavern closed last spring after more than 100 years of on-again, off-again operation. The historic University Circle club with the iconic neon blade sign has been host to countless local, regional and national acts. Live music scenes in the 1987 film “Light of Day” with Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett were filmed there in front of local crowds.

Formally announced on Thursday at University Circle Inc.’s annual meeting, the news is just one more way leaders in that neighborhood are actively trying to create what UCI president Chris Ronayne calls a “complete neighborhood” — one where everything a resident might need or want is within a 20-minute walk.

“We’ve had an intentional effort to bring back Euclid Avenue over the past five years, diligently trying to reclaim the Main Street,” Ronanye told Scene. “The Euc is an icon to Cleveland, an icon to the music scene, and it’s an icon to Euclid Avenue. When you marry up the icon of the Euclid Tavern with the new icon of the Happy Dog, you have a winner.”

Ronanye added that his organization actively pursued the owners of Happy Dog to fill that spot, adding that those behind the project understand the historic importance of one of Cleveland’s oldest bars. Williams, for his part, is honored to be a part of this legendary club’s story.

“Obviously, we’re business people who want to grow our brand and make money,” says Williams. “But we also want to be part of the revitalization of Cleveland and save some of that great history. I love that there are so many people who say, ‘I remember going to the Euclid Tavern for this show or that.'”

That towering, classic sign must stay put, all agree.

“We would love to somehow keep — and University Circle would want us to keep — the name Euclid Tavern because of its historic and neighborhood value,” Williams adds. “It’s a great sign, and we hope to keep it. We’re thinking something along the lines of Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern.”

After getting the keys on December 1, Williams says that job one will involve a lot of elbow grease, cleaning and reorganization of the space.

“It’s a total shithole,” he admits. “This is probably one of the worst spots I’ve taken over. It’s really bad.”

When all is said and done, Happy Dog East will function much like its west-side sibling, with hot dogs, veggie dogs, fries and tots. A new 40-tap beer system will keep the craft beer flowing.

As for the music and entertainment, Williams says that the location in Cleveland’s cultural epicenter allows him and his partners to program events in a new and exciting way.

“We can do more diverse music and entertainment projects here,” he says. “We think the location lends itself to a more world music stage.”

The stage, forever centered in the second room, will be moved to the front of the building. The team is bringing in the “sound guy from the Black Keys” to completely redo the sound system. A back room will be turned into a second dining room and arcade with games like shuffleboard and classic pinball machines. A basement room with a smaller bar will be used as a “green room/party room/overflow dining/speakeasy,” according to Williams.

Given the neighborhood, lunch service might be added down the road.

As for how soon we can expect to wrap our hands around an east-side happy hot dog, Williams says: “If we can open by March 1, we will. If we can open February 1, we will.”

This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2013.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

15 replies on “Happy Dog to Take Over Historic Euclid Tavern in University Circle”

  1. you mean “formally announced,” not “formerly announced.” I don’t see how this is the “best news ever” either. It’s pretty typical Cleveland bar news, it sounds like to me.

  2. If new owners make the Euc Happy Dog @ the Euclid Tavern and take away the classic Wings and serve vegan sandwiches and replace blues bands that alumni have come to love with “world music?” Then they’d be doing the Home of Rock and Roll city of Cleveland a big disservice. The Euc, as it was respectfully portrayed in the film “The Light of Day,” was a shithole, but that’s what made it wonderful. A soulful, glorious, gritty house of rock. The only bar scene I’d ever seen to be even close to the Euc in the US was the Olde Absinthe Bar on Bourbon St. If this becomes another remake and takes away another piece of my college experience that I loved so much, I will probably not be back to visit it.

  3. If the new owners of Happy Dog are going to come in and try to take the Classic Euc and call it “Happy Dog @ The Euclid a Tavern,” replace the grungy, bluesy rock scene with “World music, ” and push vegan sandwiches instead of their classic buffalo wings, it’ll be one last stop on my sentimental journey through my favorite city. The place used to be a “shithole,” a glorious, gritty and authentic landmark of Cleveland Rock and Roll! Alumni as well as other blues club goers would agree as would Joan Jett and MJ Fox, I’m sure that redoing the “Euc” to a slick, homogenized, politically correct venue would be doing the historic landmark a dis justice and not saving it, but making it into something else entirely. The only bar I’ve seen like it in the US that even compares to its rock and roll soul was the Olde Absinthe Bar on Bourbon St. NOLA. Sadly, that historic landmark bar where Led Zeppelin played has been shut down and replaced with two shot bars.

  5. I can’t think of a better bar to replace the Euc.. it’s not an uppity, high class lounge.. it is a middle class neighborhood bar with music and great dogs. This is great, the perfect way to hear a band and get something to eat.

  8. Please don’t make major changes to the inside 🙂 Clean and polish the EUC just like you did the 58th & Detroit location and it will draw all those who have loved that bar; back when Bobby owned it!! GUSTO!!!!

  10. I had the honor to live above this place right before it was closed. the owner was a cokehead who didnt pay the mortgage and that’
    s why it closed. the apartments above it were almost uninhabitable due to the noise. when UCI bought the building they put a man named tom mignogna in charge of it who made it very clear that what they wanted was a corporate as fuck bar that had the veneer of being a blue collar dive. Which is fine in it’s own way I guess. it’s historic cleveland but the times are changing and as a recent commercial pointed out, only a fool trips on what’s behind him. I just really hope they don’t bring back karaoke thursdays.

  11. Please don’t replicate the hipster place you have in Gordon Square. Respect the tradition and let’s see classic bar food and classic music.

  12. Yeahhhh, keep it exactly the same way that it was before. It worked out last ti….. Ohhhhhh. Wait, no it didn’t. You people are a bunch of stubborn dumbasses.

  14. This makes me SO happy as I live two blocks away! I’m glad the space is being put to good use again and I hope “Happy Dog East” will also feature the Supershow variety show and other events like Happy Dog West does! The CWRU students need someplace close/cheap to go for entertainment. And yummy hot dogs.

  15. Firstly please do not refer to the Euclid Tavern as the “Euc” use rather “The Tavern” . Euc sounds like the noise you make while throwing up on the sidewalk outside . So some respect to a Cleveland landmark . I cringe every time I hear that quasi word . Sure it’s a dive bar but it’s the dive bar I killed millions of brain cells spent hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars ( draft was only $1.00 back then). Smoked a joint or two or three or four you get the message with Bill Miller (Mr.. Stress) during intermissions .I got kicked in the balls by my then girlfriend during an argument about leaving early, in the middle of Euclid Ave. ( awesome makeup sex afterwards btw) . Just a few of the thousands of memories I have of the Tavern. Surely there are hundreds of bars in the Cleveland area that have Tavern in it’s name but there was only one “The Tavern”. Thanks

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