#MakeBarPoolGreatAgain.
That’s been Steven Mitchell’s favorite hashtag for a few years, and that’s because it’s what he’s trying to do at his Silver Rail Bar & Grill in South Wheeling.
#MakeBarPoolGreatAgain.
Mitchell purchased the 29th Street venue about three years ago and has made a number of improvements to the interior and exterior of the structure. The establishment was known as Rae’s Bar for several years, but Mitchell brought back the bar’s original name and enhanced everything about the place – including the food menu, the live entertainment, and, yes, the pool tables and leagues that now play at the venue a few times each week.
“I put a Trump spin on the hashtag to relate to people and to get their attention, but people know this game is in my blood. I’ve always played pool,” Mitchell said. “My grandmother had a pool table and I played a lot as a kid and got pretty good to the point that I’ll compete. That’s how I met all of the other players here in the valley, and now they all play here.
“At first, all we had in common was pool, but now I’m friends with these folks and that’s the best part,” he explained. “I learned the game at the ole Sportsman’s Club in downtown (Wheeling). That’s where the players played back in the day.”
Mitchell and four other players at the Silver Rail will play this Fall in the Valley National 8-Ball League (VNEA), a circuit now accepting registrations for teams based on both sides of the Ohio River.
Men and women wishing to register for the five-person teams can do so at any of the participating bars, including The Gold, Redman’s, American Legion Post 38, and Double D’s in Martins Ferry, Billy’s Bar in Triadelphia, Ted’s Trophy Club in Moundsville, and at the Silver Rail.
“One of the best parts about owning the bar is the pool community that forms. It’s a great thing when the league teams start playing each other again,” Mitchell said. “There’s a camaraderie with everyone. And it’s everywhere you go while competing in our league here in the valley, and everywhere else you go to play the game.
“I compete all over the country and I see folks from everywhere,” he said. “We don’t miss a beat as far as getting along with each other, but there are differences in the game depending on the competition. As far as our league, we have the best players in the valley, that’s for sure, and I can’t wait until it gets started next month.”
‘The Rail’
The Silver Rail was a popular bar in South Wheeling when, in the 1990s, management opened it for teen dances on some Friday nights. Ever since the property changed hands through the years before Mitchell purchased it in 2021.
His intent, though, was not to transform the new Silver Rail into a pool hall.
“It’s pretty quiet in a pool hall,” Mitchell said with a chuckle. “This place isn’t a quiet place because we have a lot more going on here with the darts and music and the food we serve here, so when we’re having our league play, there’s a lot going on.
“That’s because everyone is welcome here and people know it. We have our people in this neighborhood who come in most days, and we attract people from all over the area because of everything we offer here. The players in our Fall League will find that out if they don’t know it already.”
Most weekends the Rail features live music, and this Friday evening “Splash Panel” will perform with “Someday Saturday” as the opening act beginning at 9 p.m.
“When it comes to the music we have here at the Silver Rail, it’s a little bit of everything and if someone doesn’t like what’s on stage, they can wait to come when there’s music they do like,” Mitchell said with a smile. “We keep it open to everyone and it’s been going very, very well.
“The pool tables and the stage are in different areas of the bar, but we’re not a pool hall and our players know that,” he said. “Our tables are the best. I make sure of that on a daily basis. When the other teams in our leagues come here, they look forward to it because of how we take care of the place.”
The food? Sure, there’s pizza, but also fish and fries, grilled chicken salads, wraps, burgers, chicken sandwiches and fingers, wings, flatbreads, open-face turkey sandwiches, and much more.
“What we’re trying to do with our food here is elevate the game. We’re not just your average bar where the food comes out of a bag. Our people take a lot of pride in what comes out of our kitchen,” Mitchell explained. “They prep it during the day, and they make sure the orders are correct when the food leaves the kitchen. If it’s still not right, we quickly make it right.
“I’m sure when our league teams come in this year, they’ll be checking out the menu because we’ve changed it a little bit to make it even better than last year,” he added. “Our teams in the league rotate from place to place, but when they come here, our kitchen will be a busy place.”
