Santa Claus will be there. So will Frosty and Rudolph, and maybe even a few elves will stop by the new “Jingle Bar” in downtown Wheeling.
The new but temporary pop-up establishment will open during the second week of November on the corner of 10th and Main streets in the building once home to the legendary Bill’s Hamburger. It’s adjacent to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, caddy corner from the Bridge Tavern & Grill, and just down the street from the Capitol Theatre.
And the windows of the storefront are covered now, but anyone walking by the building might hear pop-up bar owner Ken Sexton “Ho-Ho-Hoing” while he continues to decorate the Jingle Bar’s interior.
“It’s a Christmas pop-up bar that’s going to open during the first week of November and will be open during the entire Christmas season,” Sexton reported. “And then in January, we’ll take it all down, and this corner will appear like it never existed. But when it’s open, you’ll know we’re here for sure.
“The plan is to do it again each year,” he said. “I think everyone knows this place because J. Jones (Bridal) was here, and several years ago, Bill’s Hamburger was here for years. If this location gets filled again next year with a business, then we’ll do what we can to move it to another building.”
For now, though, Sexton believes the location is ideal for the upcoming Christmas season.
“There’s so much going on here with the Bridge Tavern, Newbridge across the street, the Capitol Theatre, and the Wheeling Suspension Bridge,” he said. “There’s residential with the lofts in the Stone Center and the apartments in The Doris building, and there’s parking in the area – especially during the evening hours.
“We already have some special events that we scheduled and they’ve already sold out, so we know people are excited for this idea,” Sexton said. “This is a concept that’s taken place in places like Pittsburgh and other cities, so I thought it was time to bring it here to Wheeling because I believe it could be something that grows here.”
Cookies & Milk?
Along with thousands of twinkling lights and miles of decorative garlands, the Jingle Bar will feature the many tastes of the holiday season while welcoming patrons who simply wish to get hands-on with a number of Christmas traditions.
Want to make cookies? Wrap a present like your grandmother? Jingle all the glaze?
Wait? What?
“We’ll be open Tuesday through Sunday, and on Tuesdays, we’ll be offering some kind of classes like gift wrapping, wreath making, and cookie making,” Sexton said with a broad smile. “We’ll even have a class that involves the glazed, ceramic Christmas trees that everyone grew up with when we were kids, and that’s going to be a blast.
“And then Wednesday through Sunday, we’ll be open like a regular bar, and we’re working on our menu because we won’t be cooking here,” he explained. “We’ll have a lot of different foods catered in, like meat and cheese trays, pepperoni rolls, and a lot of other items that our visitors will enjoy, and we’re having a few brunches, too, that will be catered.”
So, here’s what we know. After he and his little helpers prepare for months, the real Santa Claus makes his way around the world within 24 hours every December. OK, but do we know how jolly ole St. Nick and his army of elves celebrate such an accomplishment?
Sexton has his ideas.
“We’ll have different beers, wines, and regular drinks, but we’ve spent some time developing the specialty drinks for the holidays. Drinks like ‘The Santa’s Helper’, and the ‘Snowman Surprise’, and a few others,” Sexton said. “I know everyone is looking forward to our Christmas specialty drinks, and we’ve worked with the state for our licensing, and they’ve been good to work with, too.
“These kinds of pop-up bars are unique because there are no two that are alike,” he said. “And we’ve been working hard on our decorations since we signed the lease because we want it to be as special as we think it can be.”
Welcome to ‘Christmas City’
It was in 1985 when Oglebay first flipped the switch on the annual Festival of Lights, and that initiated an annual parade of hundreds of tour buses that meandered their motor coaches through miles of illuminated beauty.
At first, the roadways of downtown Wheeling were included on the tour map, but that traction dwindled through the years.
But again, Sexton has his ideas.
“‘Why am I doing this?’ is a great question to ask me, and it’s an easy question for me to answer because I believe Wheeling is poised to become a Christmas destination once again. If you think about it, we already have so much in place during the holiday season,” explained Sexton, a former local tour guide. “Oglebay’s Festival of Lights is an event that this area has benefited from for decades, and it’s only getting bigger, so why not add to that?
“The Highlands is certainly a great destination all year long but especially during the holidays, and the Capitol Theatre has so many great holiday shows this time of year. Plus, the Nutcracker Village is just up the road in Steubenville, and the streets of downtown Wheeling will be decorated again with brand new snowflake ornaments,” he said. “We just all need to work together, and if that all happens, maybe we can add to it in the future so we can get back to having all of the motorcoaches rolling through this area during Christmas time.”
It’s the glisten he still sees in his memories, so now Sexton wants to help bring back those “oohs” and “ahhs” of the holiday season.
“I just remember when Wheeling seemed like it was all lit up at Christmas, and I loved it. It was a special time of year, and I want to be a part of the effort that brings that back because people loved it,” he said. “I don’t know why it all went away and I don’t care. That doesn’t matter now because I don’t see a reason why we can bring it all back.
“People from the Wheeling area love Christmas time, and thousands of people come into the area to see what Oglebay offers because those folks do, too,” Sexton added. “It’s a special time here, and it’s going to be very special here at the Jingle Bar.”
