Rick’s Caf will continue to expand its business this summer with the return of Lucky’s Lounge. Owners Rick Welch and Seth O’Nan plan to reopen Lucky’s as a piano bar in the newly built second floor of Rick’s Caf.
Construction of the new bar began two years ago along with the rest of Rick’s recent additions.
The expansion project also includes the Rick’s Tiki Bar, which opened in April 2006.
“When Seth O’Nan and I joined forces a few years back, he owned Lucky’s Lounge on Main Street,” Welch said. “Our plans have always been to move his business upstairs in combination with the rest of the expansions.”
Lucky’s will be the upscale choice in the facility, he said.
“We hope it will give our customers even more of a variety,” he said. “If they don’t feel like hanging out outside at The Tiki or ‘shaking it’ in Rick’s, Lucky’s will give them a great option to have a lower-key kind of night.”
O’Nan said he believes Lucky’s will bring a new atmosphere to Rick’s.
“Every bar in Starkville has its own feel to it, but they don’t have five or six,” O’Nan said. “As a facility, Rick’s is unique because we can cater to anyone who walks in the door. I don’t know of any other bar like it in Mississippi.”
He said Lucky’s will cater toward an older age group, with a 21 and up door policy.
The new bar will have several living room areas and a private women’s lounge with a make-up counter, couches and TVs adjacent to the bathrooms.
The bar will offer a wide selection of premium beer and liquor and host wine-tasting parties and martini nights.
The new bar will also be a prime place to have business parties, wedding receptions and smaller private events, Welch said.
Lucky’s Lounge will provide patrons with a variety of music choices in addition to piano players.
O’Nan said the bar will feature blues bands on Fridays and piano players on Saturdays.
“Lucky’s Lounge will give us the opportunity to offer an even wider variety of music for our customers,” Welch said. “Traditional piano bars usually only offer piano-based entertainment. Lucky’s will feature not only piano players, but blues musicians, solo acts and maybe even full bands from time to time.”
Patrons will usually pay a cover charge that will get them in to any of the three bars.
Lucky’s may charge a separate cover charge on various occasions in order to support the music acts.
Leslie Clement, a senior secondary education major, said she is looking forward to Lucky’s opening.
“I am excited about the piano bar. It has a really good appeal because we don’t have a bar like that in Starkville,” she said. “I think it will probably attract an older crowd, and I like that.”
Senior international business major Adam Foote said he also believes the bar will attract an older crowd.
“Piano bars like the ones in downtown Memphis are a lot of fun, and it will be cool to have something like that here,” he said.
Welch said the bar does not have an official opening date, but will open sometime this summer.