Sluggo's

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Sluggo's
Sluggos.jpg
Cuisine Southern
Vegan
Location 101 S. Jefferson Street
Established 1988
Owner Terry Johnson
Hours of Operation Mon-Sat: 11:00 AM-til
Sun: Closed
Phone number (850) 791-6501
Website http://www.myspace.com/sluggos

Sluggo's was a vegan café, bar, and music venue, located Downtown at 101 S. Jefferson Street.

History[edit]

The club was established by Terry Johnson in 1988 as Victor Hugo's. The name was changed to Sluggo's in March 1990, when Nick Flynn joined as a partner. (Sluggo is a character from the Nancy comic strip. He is a poor boy from the "wrong side of the tracks.")

Originally located at 319 North Tarragona Street (now the HandleBar), the club moved to Intendencia Street in 1993 and again to 130 South Palafox Street in 1995. It left the Palafox location in June 2000, citing rising rent from the building's landlord, who wanted to bring in new businesses, and hostility from the Downtown Improvement Board.[1] In 2002 Johnson announced plans for a new complex called "The Lost City" at 1602 West Garden Street, a "punk rock mall" of which Sluggo's would be a part,[2] but the project fell through.

After being closed for several years, Sluggo's reopened at a new location (site of the old Caribbean Market) on June 7, 2004, with Will Oldham performing.[3]

On November 28, 2009, Sluggo's had the grand opening of their second location, "Sluggo's North Vegetarian Cafe" at 501 Cherokee Blvd in Chattanooga, TN.

In April, 2010, Sluggo's relocated to their current location at 101 S. Jefferson Street in Downtown Pensacola.

On October 7, 2016, owner Terry Johnson announced the closing of Sluggo's on the business's Facebook page. Johnson cited a "long battle with the landlord over power in the building" as the reason for shutting down the location. She also said construction from Studer Properties' large apartment complex across the street influenced the move. Johnson assured patrons that a new Sluggo's location could arrive soon, "just a little closer to the outskirts of downtown." Sluggo's closed its doors for the last time on October 9, 2016.

Sluggo's has yet to reopen in Pensacola, and remains permanently closed.


Notable performances[edit]

List incomplete. Please add bands and dates.
  • 2 Live Crew
  • 7 Year Bitch
  • AFI
  • Against Me!
  • Amazing Crowns
  • Anodyne
  • Bastard Noise
  • Beach Monkees
  • The Bill Silvertone Quartet
  • Bigwig
  • Black Channuka
  • Black Flag
  • Blue Mountain
  • Book of Love
  • BUCK-O
  • Bunkhouse Jones
  • Camper Van Beethoven
  • Can
  • City of Ships
  • Cowboy Mouth
  • Conflict
  • Crying
  • Cursive (April 28 & Dec 4, 2009)
  • Eric Andrew Taylor
  • Dash Rip Rock
  • Deerhoof (February 28, 1998)
  • Digital Underground
  • Kimya Dawson
  • Deacon Lunchbox
  • Dinteen
  • Drunken Boat
  • Ed Hall
  • Elvis Hitler
  • Everclear
  • Ensign
  • Face To Face
  • Five Eight
  • For Squirrels
  • Frogpond
  • The Flaming Lips
  • Fudge Pop
  • The Get Up Kids (1997 & 1998)
  • Girl Talk
  • Good Riddance
  • Greg Ginn
  • Headless Marines
  • Health
  • Hillbilly Frankenstein
  • The Hilltops
  • The Impotent Sea Snakes (cops shut it down, obscenity charges)
  • Japanther
  • The Jody Grind
  • Kid Rock
  • Kylesa
  • L7
  • The LaBrea Stompers
  • Legendary Shack Shakers
  • Lair of the Minotaur
  • Lucero
  • Mach Turtle
  • Make Believe
  • Mary's Danish
  • Matt and Kim
  • MC Chris
  • The Meat Puppets
  • Melvins (August 14, 1999)
  • Millencolin
  • Municipal Waste
  • Pansy Division (twice @Intendecia)
  • The PeeChees (February 28, 1998)
  • Charlie Pickett
  • The Replacements
  • Jonathan Richman (at least twice, @Cervantes & @Jefferson)
  • The Reverend Horton Heat
  • Run-DMC
  • Shawn Mullins
  • Shai Hulud (1998 & October 7, 2005)
  • This Bike is a Pipe Bomb
  • Mary Timony
  • Onespot Fringehead (1995)
  • Guerilla Monsoon (1994)
  • Skankin' Pickle
  • Sons of Abraham (1998)
  • Son Volt
  • Southern Culture on the Skids
  • The Subsonics
  • The Jesus Lizard
  • Thirty Foot Fall
  • Torche
  • Tribal Voice (1993)
  • TSOL
  • Unwound (February 28, 1998)
  • Vivian Girls
  • xbxrx (1998 - 2000)


External links & references[edit]

  1. "Sucker Punch." Independent News, June 4, 2004.
  2. "Downtown loses one bar, gains old favorite." Pensacola News Journal, January 31, 2002.
  3. "Sluggo's reborn in Brownsville - the hippest part of town." Pensacola News Journal, June 1, 2004.