If there are three things downtown Muncie is missing, it's ‘80s cover bands, southern comfort food and a bar to take your mom to. Enter the newest downtown bar and restaurant — The Silo.
The owner, Chris Ellison, said the bar, located on the corner of Walnut and Adams streets, on the same strip as Doc's Music Hall and The Heorot, will target the young professional crowd — including the graduate students and seniors at Ball State University.
"We're not a dive bar. We put a lot of time and effort into trying to make something really nice, that you can go to and listen to good music and relax," Ellison said.
In the first week of business, the bar and restaurant have seen a variety of visitors, including a woman celebrating her 21st birthday on the same night a man was celebrating his 85th.
"It's so exciting to see another addition to the Muncie downtown community," Stephanie Swendsen, Silo bartender and managing editor of Ball Bearings magazine, said. "A lot of people have been working hard to revitalize the downtown area, and it's great to see it turn out successfully...The Silo offers something unique and it'll draw a new crowd."
Ellison, along with 10 Muncie community members, worked together to create The Silo.
Ellison divides his time between Muncie and Chicago. He decided The Silo was a fitting name for the bar because of the bar's original architecture and after realizing how many silos he passed during his commute between Muncie and Chicago.
Ellison hails from Rome, Ga., which shares a comparable median household income, cost of living and residential age with Muncie.
"Really, downtown Muncie seems a lot like my hometown," Ellison said.
Ellison has brought elements of his hometown to the downtown bar, including what he calls "southern comfort cuisine," which includes chilis, stews, dumplings, hamburgers, meatloaf, pot roast and mashed potatoes. Ellison plans on creating a variety of unusual pizzas and having nights dedicated to different cuisines — nacho night, sloppy joe night and a late-night menu for example. Eventually, all of the items on the full-service menu will be available for delivery.
"We're going to be very competitive if not less than some of the bars downtown," Ellison said.
Each day The Silo will feature a special on one beer, one liquor and one food. Drink prices are $3 wells, $5 top shelf, $1.50 Pabst Blue Ribbons, $2.75 domestic beers and $3.25 imported beers.
The Silo will also feature a variety of live entertainment similar to the concept behind Indianapolis-based bar Howl at the Moon. Ellison plans to incorporate karaoke nights, dueling banjo nights and dueling piano nights.
Ellison's roots are in bluegrass. His grandfather, Cleo Davis, was the original lead singer for the band Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. Davis was inducted into the Rock ‘n' Roll Hall of Fame along with the band.
Dueling piano consists of two piano players going against each other playing the same song. Ellison envisions "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses being one of the songs dueled between the players.
"That kind of surprise — that's the kind of stuff we're going to do," Ellison said. "We're open to anything and everybody. I like all types of music, from hip-hop DJs to country, and trying to encompass all that is what I am and what I want to do."
The Silo has a jukebox, in-house piano, five plasma screen TVs, a dartboard and pool table.
"Good fun, good music, good spirits — We're there to have a good time and that's all we want people in Muncie to do," Ellison said.
The Silo is a non-smoking establishment but will have outside seating on the sidewalks surrounding the building on Walnut and Adams streets.
The feel and design of the bar is modern contemporary or modern farm. Local art hangs on the walls, whilst chandeliers dangle from the ceilings. Ellison is keeping the community development aspect of the bar by receiving food from local meat markets. The Silo also offers organic spirits, beer, wine and liquors.
"It's just a better product. I try to use as many organic products as I can, I just feel better, I believe in it," Ellison said.
Ellison said the bar is 90 to 95 percent recyclable, including the woven walls placed behind the dartboard and jukebox. Ellison stripped the previous paneling, used for Taste of Texas, and flipped it over to reveal the wooden paneling. He then cut the paneling into strips and wove the strips like a basket, a task which took about a month for him to complete.
Ellison graduated from University of Georgia in 1996 with a degree in political science. The Silo is his first business venture, with previous experience in real estate.
"Chris [Ellison] has a lot of interesting plans in the works and I really think the community is going to enjoy what he is about to offer," Swendsen said. "There will be a little something for everyone to enjoy. It'll be nice to have a little classier option for the Muncie night life."
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