The EVape Tavern (AKA “The Pirate Bar”) has opened at 1207 N. Central Street in the heart of downtown Happy Holler. Seth Barber and Neal Murphy opened their third location there recently and it doesn’t resemble their other locations, the first of which opened nearly a decade ago. Seth said the space told them what it wanted to be: A pirate bar.
While neither are originally from Knoxville — Seth is originally from Wisconsin — Seth and his family moved here when he was a freshman in high school, and he’s been here for about twenty-six years. Neal is a marine (no longer active) and moved around quite a bit before settling in Knoxville. The two met working at O’Charley’s on the strip sometime around 2003.
While at that O’Charley’s they started a fantasy football league which continued to bring them together after that location closed and they all went their separate ways. About 2014 Neal and another partner decided to open the first EVape Lounge and hired Seth to run it. He very soon bought out the first partner and they’ve continued their successful business together.
The business has always offered beer in addition to the EVape products. Seth said, “We wanted it to be a hang-out as much as a retail space.” Picking up what you want and heading-out is fine, but they’d like you to stay for a while and enjoy their wide range of craft beer. He pointed out, however, that there are not a lot of locations offering good to-go beer in the area. They offer over 200 package beer options. “You can build your six pack out of all of them. We start local and move out.” All the beer offered on draft is local, “by rule.” If you want PBR
With bar-life as part of their background, they had long talked about opening a full-on bar. With the first two locations doing well (Powell and West Knoxville), they wanted to open a third location “near downtown or on the south-side.” Noticing the current location was vacant, they toured and liked it, but it was far more space than they needed. “Functionally, we only need 100 or 150 square feet.” But they loved the space, and it forced the idea of opening a bar.
“With where Happy Holler is now and where we feel like it is going, we felt like we needed to put some shine on what we were doing . . . I want to feel like we’re part of the up-and-coming part. Themes are something we’ve always done. The first location was zombie themed. The west store is a Star Wars/Star Trek kind of thing. The pirate part was not a forgone conclusion. The room told us that’s what it needed to be.” He notes the original floors and the ceiling panels (which are redone and beautiful – and strangely “pirate.”
To one side you’ll find a typical vape shop, along with a large cooler of beer. “The rule of vape shops is convenience, and that’s what we’ve gone for . . . We’ve gone for a very solid collection.” They also have CBD and hemp products, including edibles, as well as CBD products for pets. He said each location is tailored to the local demand. Items from the shop can be sold through the bar during bar hours and vaping is allowed in the bar, though use of “combustables” (lighting up a cigarette of whatever sort) is not allowed.
As for the pirate tavern, it starts with a bar in the shape of a pirate ship, complete with a figurehead of a mermaid. It’s the largest pirate touch you’ll find, but there remains a virtual pirate treasure trove to explore. Even the bathrooms carry the theme. If you look closely, you’ll discover skeletal remnants of actual mermaids discovered at the bottom of the ocean.
The pirate side features a full-service bar. “Again, Pirate bar, so rum and brandy are kings of the castle here.” They don’t have a “well” rum, meaning you’ll find no cheap brand rums. The house brand is “Shipwreck,” and “we run up to 25-year barrel-aged, super high-end rums and brandies.” The top-end gives you a two-ounce pour for fifty dollars. They also have a selection of several brands for each of the other types of alcohol, including local liquors, and while they feature a list of cocktails, they can whip up almost anything you like. They do have wine, but just a small selection, including champagne. For great wine they defer to Zero/Zero next door, but they want to be able to serve a friend who doesn’t want cocktails, beer, or rum.
Seth and his wife operated a food-truck and have extensive knowledge of making a range of foods in a small kitchen with no hood — which is good because that’s what they’ve got at EVape Tavern. You’ll find bar food, like warm pretzels, but they also feature a “sharkcoochie” plate with cheeses, meat, and seasonal fruits. They also offer a spaghetti dish (Chain Shot), a taco dish (Plunder), a pork dish (Spy Glass), a shrimp scampi dish (Blunderbuss), and several others. You can check out the full food and cocktail menu here.
The bar also has a stage and sound system, with a full schedule of programmed entertainment: Monday night karaoke, Tuesday night, open mike, Thursday night, trivia, and Friday and Saturday are reserved for live music. They are developing brunch for Sundays (stay tuned) and the large back room (which is also available for private gatherings with a minimum bar tab) features comedy shows: Open Mike on Monday, Thursday Theme Night, Saturday features regional comedians (before the live music starts in the front room). There is also a possibility that they will open the back for some political debates for city races this fall.
The hours are 10:00 am to 2:00 am seven days a week. He said they are trying to figure out the neighborhood and they plan to give those hours a shot until they learn differently. The Vape shop isn’t manned after 10, but they can help you from the bar side. With a capacity of 98, they likely have a chair open with your name on it. Check them out.