‘Come in and feel welcomed.’ Upscale bar in downtown Perry celebrates grand opening

Asked about the vision for Main St. Bar in downtown Perry, general manager Zach Bibbins sang the familiar refrain from a popular TV sitcom, “Where everybody knows your name.”

“Cheers,” which aired from September 1982 to May 1993, was set in a bar and traced the lives of the bartender and owner, his staff and regular customers.

“That’s exactly what we want — a relaxed atmosphere where you can come in and feel welcomed,” Bibbins said. “There’s never anything harsh.

“The music’s never too loud … There’s never unruly people here. It’s just a place where you can have a drink after work … maybe even with colleagues … a respectable place that you can relax at, have a drink and not worry about much.”

Grand Opening

After nearly a year’s delay, the upscale, family owned and operated bar at 740 Main St. celebrates its grand opening Friday. The event includes a birthday celebration for Bibbins’ brother Josh Stricklen and a ribbon cutting.

The grand opening comes on the heels of a successful soft opening this past Monday.

“It went fantastic,” Bibbins said. “Had a great turnout; a great crowd. Everybody was friendly. Everybody had a great time. The bar made money — can’t complain about that … I’m just overwhelmed with joy about the experience and how welcoming the community has been.”

Handcrafted cocktails

The bar boasts specially crafted signature cocktails from its own Georgia Bulldog to the borrowed Apple Pie on the Rocks and the Blue Christmas.

The Georgia Bulldog is a vanilla vodka, peach schnapps and Coke cocktail that “goes down really smooth,” Bibbins said. Blue Christmas is among the seasonal cocktails that Main St. Bar is now serving up.

“It’s a beautiful looking drink— it’s got glitter in it … Blue Curacao, rum, simple syrup, cranberry juice and lime juice,” Bibbins said.

Apple Pie on the Rocks, another seasonal cocktail, combines vanilla vodka, cinnamon whiskey, apple cider and simple syrup.

“It literally comes out a nice, spicy apple pie with that cinnamon spice in it,” Bibbins said. “It’s incredible. It’s delicious.”

In addition to cocktails and other drinks, the bar offers limited food offerings.

“We do have food but nothing cooked (on premise),” Bibbins said. “Everything’s either refrigerated or served room temperature like cheeses, dried fruit, crackers.”

Among the offerings are charcuterie boards and locally-sourced items such as a tomato bacon dip from Acres & Oak and a buffalo chicken dip and pimento and cheese served with crackers from The Perfect Pear.

Cozy & Inviting

With its minimalist design with black walls and soft lighting from chandeliers, the bar offers a cozy, inviting atmosphere, Bibbins said.

In the back of the bar is an outside patio with a black and white design, a colorful backdrop created by Heather Coy for taking pictures, lights strung overhead and heaters for cooler weather. The patio is enclosed with a black privacy fence.

The bar is owned by his mom, Shannon Stricklen. His sister, Jamie Stricklen, also works at the bar, and other family members are involved from behind the scenes.

“My mom had this vision from the very start about the potential of everything,” Bibbins said. “She had this idea of the tables being a certain way and the bar looking a certain way and all the lights a certain way.

“Piece by piece, it ended up coming together.”

The family invites folks to come out and give Main St. Bar a try.

“We’d really appreciate to be able to share a drink and a good time with you,” Bibbins said.

And they’ll always be glad you came.

Operating hours are 11 a.m. to midnight daily except Wednesday, when the bar is closed, and Sunday, when the hours are 1 p.m. to midnight.

This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.