Pub opens in historic home

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

The building has housed families, music shops and medical practices over the years. It’s time for a Scots-Irish pub.
The House on Main, a historic house located on Abingdon’s Main Street has been converted – once more – to accommodate the new owners’ desire to run a restaurant.
According to one owner Tim Nichols, everything in the house – the tables, chairs, fixtures, even the lights – is an antique. Some date back as far as 1885. The interior, Nichols said, has been painted exclusively in colors that would have been available when the house was built in 1909.
“Everything we have probably could have been here (when the house was built),” he said.
Many of the furniture items were taken from hotels and other places in the United Kingdom, something Nichols hopes will add to the feel of the house.
There are several rooms in the house, each with its own theme and layout.
One of the larger rooms, the Carson Room, is named after the house’s original inhabitants. Other rooms include the French Room, named after the French Moores, senior and junior, former inhabitants themselves, and The Catherine Room, named after Nichols’ wife’s mother and their daughter. Then there is the Banquette Room, the largest of the dining areas, and the Garden Room, a more open and bright room that leads out to the garden by the house. There is also a room in the front containing a bar (another rescued and restored antique) they call the Pallor where customers can get appetizers or drinks while they wait to be seated.
The menu includes a number of steaks and seafood as entrées, as well as burgers, lamb chops, baby back ribs and fried green tomatoes. Of course, it wouldn’t be a pub if there weren’t spirits.
“We’ve got six beers on tap, mixed drinks and you can take a liquor in tonic water or on the rocks,” said Nichols. “We’ve also got a killer wine list.”
Nichols said that every day at 5 p.m., the bell on the porch will ring to signify quitting time. On Thursdays, this will kick off the serving of margaritas on the front porch.
Though Nichols is trying to run a successful business, he hasn’t cast the house’s history to the wayside. For seemingly every nook and cranny in the house, Nichols knows the story behind it.
“I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the people who have been in here,” he said.
Nichols also said that while he’s put in a fair amount of work himself, the town of Abingdon has been a tremendous help the past few weeks in helping him get all his things in order and get the place up and running.
“They’ve helped so much,” he said. “They bent over backwards.”
If you’re looking for a new place to eat or want to throw a party, The House on Main is located at 231 W. Main St. in Abingdon, across the street from Whither’s Hardware Company.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or