Long Live the Candlelight
Grover Street bar earns longevity for itself through DJ nights and consistency
Mark McClellan hasn’t figured out all the mysteries in the world of bar ownership, but he’s got a good thing in the Candlelight Lounge.
McClellan has owned the bar for 26 years, but the Candlelight itself has been open since 1968, back in the days when a lounge was a lounge, McClellan said.
“There aren’t very many left,” he said.
When McClellan took over the bar, he introduced DJ nights, which now happen at the Candlelight Thursday through Saturday night. He said his bar has hosted one of the longest running continuous DJ dance nights in the city.
“I was playing DJ music when MC Hammer was new,” he joked.
He said the dance nights are fully DJ-driven but mostly follow a Top 40 format with some retro selections thrown in.
“We’re not any one thing, we’re everything,” he said of the typical play list during a DJ night.
The bar has expanded three times since opening and now also includes a grill that is open daily until 9 p.m.
He said that has helped cement the bar’s reputation, as the Candlelight draws from around the area during the day and early evening.
“The longevity of the bar probably has a lot to do with it being a neighborhood bar first,” McClellan said.
He also credits his location, hovering between midtown and south Omaha, for letting him forge strong community ties and for being able to bring in a college crowd from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
It’s also why Thursdays get more of a college vibe, as the bar offers beer pong, $1 domestic draws and $1 Busch Light bottles. The Busch Light promotion dates back 16 years.
Beer pong is a newer offering that he had thought about for several years after his son told him about it. He said he made sure to go in the right way, buying regulation tables and making sure he had ample space for it.
The bar’s other staple drink is its six varieties of fish bowl concoctions, which run $15. It’s something a whole group can enjoy and has been a longtime hit for ladies’ nights out, he said.
“That’s kind of been our mainstay,” McClellan said.
All in all, McClellan points to the longevity of many of the promotions he does as being Candlelight’s secret.
“The key to the bar business is consistency,” he said.