Johnny’s welcomes Christmas theme back to kick off second year of business
The holidays are all about tradition, and Sherry Lynn, owner of Johnny’s Distillery in Butler, is in her second year of helping to make a new tradition for the community.
It has been a year since Johnny’s opened at 201 S. Main St., Suite 1, which was kicked off with a Christmas-themed holiday pop-up bar. As we enter the holiday stretch, Lynn is once again bringing back the holiday theme she is sure will be bigger and better than last year.
“It has been absolutely wonderful,” Lynn said of Johnny’s first full year of business. “The community has been very supportive of us. We are now distilling our own spirits. There has been a lot of learning, and the spirits have been very well received.”
Last year, Lynn said Johnny’s received its liquor license the day before Thanksgiving, and the Christmas-themed holiday pop-up bar opened up quickly after.
The business used to be home to RB Cigar Bar & Speakeasy, which Lynn said she had been a patron of for a long time, which was part of her inspiration to open Johnny’s, which was named after Lynn’s grandfather, John Eisler.
“I was sad to see that it closed,” Lynn said. “So we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to open up a distillery. We opened up the distillery in the basement of the building next to where the speakeasy is downstairs. Then we had the opportunity to rent the upstairs space and we just went ahead and did it.”
This year, the holiday pop-up bar will officially be open to the public beginning Wednesday, Nov. 27.
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Johnny’s hosted its first Holiday Pop-Up Mixer for a private party in partnership with the Butler County Chamber of Commerce.
The event Tuesday helped welcome fellow community leaders and business owners to experience the new holiday pop-up bar firsthand, along with the ability to showcase some of Johnny’s new cocktail menu, which includes drinks such as The Nutcracker, Mistletoe Kisses and Reindeer Games.
Lynn said Johnny’s wants to be a part of the Butler community in more ways than just its brick-and-mortar store.
“We have jumped in on community things such as Foodie Fridays and with Butler Downtown in their events,” Lynn said. “We are very excited about Main Street in Butler with all the events going on and new businesses.”
On Wednesday and throughout the holiday season, Johnny’s also will host a variety of activities, including ugly sweater parties, live entertainment and games.
While the street-level bar of Johnny’s is visible from Main Street, there is more to the business than meets the eye.
On the floor below, Johnny’s also has another bar that used to be the smoking lounge of the cigar bar.
It now serves as a private party room for Christmas parties and weddings. Johnny’s still offers cigars for patrons, but they are no longer allowed to smoke in the downstairs lounge. Lynn said soon they will open a new room downstairs specifically for cigar smoking.
“Right now the downstairs is decorated very classically for Christmas,” Lynn said. “We have bands there on the weekend and it’s a very speakeasy kind of feel. It’s a cozy space.”
Johnny’s will be open from 3 to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays throughout the holiday season.
“The most popular comment I get is people don't feel like they are in Butler,” Johnny’s manager Christine Coughenour said. “They feel like they are somewhere else because it is such a unique atmosphere.”
