It can be hard to find a bar that supplies an atmosphere with no pressure to impress, a place where a person can truly just be themselves. But Sal Nuccio, owner of Eastside Tavern, has achieved just that in his 16 years running the downtown Columbia bar.
“Eastside is very different from other bars in town because it’s an entirely different atmosphere and group of people,” junior Cait Wood says. “I can go to Eastside and know I am going to be taken care of and will be surrounded by people who care…. Eastside is my little hole in the wall with all the geeky, nerdy, alternative, retro things I love. There is no comparison.”
Nuccio originally came to Columbia from the East Coast for a job in industrial pipefitting. His first job in town was to work on MU’s power plant, but after there was no more work for him to do in that profession, he decided to follow one of his dreams and open up an alternative bar.
“At first, I tried to have a kind of alternative rock ‘n’ roll bar,” Nuccio says. “People here didn’t really know what an alternative bar was really like, but fortunately there were enough people that appreciated it.”
The concept of Eastside Tavern has changed over the years to keep up with the need in the area. After many other local music venues opened up, it became harder to compete in that market, so Nuccio decided to give the bar an event and theme night concept, including Dirty Disco, karaoke and comedy nights, among others.
“Karaoke is my favorite night of the week,” Wood says. “I enjoy heading up there and knowing I’m going to run into all of my friends and the rest of the regulars. I’ll spend a couple days thinking about what songs I’m going to request to sing. The best part of doing karaoke at Eastside is that everyone sings along with you. Don’t think of it so much as a solo but rather like you’re the ring leader for a bunch of drunken melodies with the people you love.”
When it comes to popularity, Dirty Disco nights regularly draw the largest crowd to the bar, but karaoke nights are known to edge them out on occasion.
“When we have karaoke nights, I’d say that only about 20 percent of people singing really suck,” Nuccio says. “There are actually people that are really, really good and are even going to school for music or theater. A lot of people go up there with a group of their friends and just kind of laugh at each other. Everybody knows that you don’t know what you are doing and that you are just having a good time.”
This September, Eastside Tavern celebrated its sixth anniversary of karaoke nights, and its 16 year of being open. Nuccio says that the theme nights will continue in the future, along with a couple live bands performing every month.
“The bar might seem a little weird at first because of all the random knickknacks around, but once you get in the door you can be expected to be treated like family,” junior Lauren Pope says. “The staff is nice, the owner is always around and the regular customers aren’t afraid to chat people up. You should expect a great night anytime you go to Eastside.”