By Jimmy “Hambone” Hamilton
I did something last week that I’d been meaning to do for sometime; I stopped in for a beer at Magoon’s Famous Delicatessen. The business which originally opened across the street in 1918 by namesake Ben Magoon, moved to its permanent home at 632 South 8th in 1925. Present owners Barry and Marjorie Woodhull purchased the place in 2004 and worked on it for two and a half years before it re-opened in 2006, serving the same type of deli sandwiches that made it a Joetown landmark in its heyday, and also serving up some of the best live music in town.
I walked through the door last week, and basically entered a time capsule. The red vinyl booths, the linoleum floor, the vintage meat cases, and the walls, covered with beer bottles and signs from another era. Wow, is it 1967 in here or 1947?
I eased up to the bar and ordered a beer from the bartender, who announced to the assorted patrons that I was the guy that writes about music for The Regular Joe. That information typically gets me pats on the back and the occasional free beverage. This time I got surly looks from a couple stools down and a comment that was definitely a first; “We hate The Regular Joe!”
What? Hate the Joe? What did we do to so thoroughly piss this guy off? I asked, and he told me. Boy, did he ever.
“No music scene! There’s no music scene in town! That’s what you wrote, in the very first issue! Here we are putting live music on stage 3 and 4 nights a week, booking the best local bands and bringing in awesome regional acts too, and you have the nerve to say there’s no music scene in town. I’ll never read that rag again!”
The speaker turned out to be another bartender just starting his shift. I introduced myself, and we got into a discussion on the subject. I told him that there had been a lot of words through the processor since then, but if I remembered right, it was supposed to be a piece encouraging St. Joe audiences to support live music. I sure didn’t intend to imply that there wasn’t anyplace to hear it.
I promised to go back and read the piece again, and apologize in print if it read that way.
I did just that. The piece was called “Building The Scene”. Writing for any kind of ongoing publication is relentless. Finish one issue and on to the next. There’s not a lot of time to look backward, but I have to say that after re-reading that one, I still feel pretty good about it. Nowhere did I say anything to imply there was no music scene. Instead it was intended to encourage our readers to go see live music, so more venues would be inclined to book live music.
What I neglected to do was throw out some love to the handful of establishments that are doing it. And a list of those would certainly have Magoon’s at or near the top. To the best of my knowledge, nobody in town offers up live music as often.
I went back last night to interview the owners and also brought a peace offering. I had a framed picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima with a little thermometer built in, that the original Magoon’s gave out back in the late 40’s. My wife bought it at a garage sale a few years back, and I figured it would look better on their wall than on mine.
Barry seemed to be pleased with the gift, and showed me some of the highlights of his collection of St. Joe artifacts on display. There’s as much local history in this place as in some of our museums.
This is a music column and I’ll get to that in a minute, but first I have to talk about the food. We’re talking old-style deli here, with only the finest meats from DiLusso, and fabulous bread, baked daily. The girls from the office have been getting lunch there once a week or so, and rave about it. The Ruben Sandwich is probably their most popular item, but the new Paninni press will let them do toasted sandwiches too. Future plans call for a possible remodel of the former 2nd floor Lodge Hall into a banquet space with catering service.
Now, about the music; Magoon’s is rapidly gaining a regional reputation as a blues venue, but that’s not all. They really try to mix it up: Rock bands, Bluegrass, Alternative and Jam nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There’s something for most musical tastes on their schedule. Sometimes there’s a cover charge, sometimes not, depending on the price of the talent.
As we hope you know, we’re all about the live music, and a piece on this vault of Joetown history was long overdue. We salute the Woodhulls and their staff for preserving a local landmark and for all their efforts promoting local and regional artists.
Please stop in Magoon’s at 632 South 8th. Come for lunch or dinner. Enjoy a refreshing beverage. Rock out to some of the best live music in the area. Whenever you do, please be sure to tell ‘em “Joe” sent you.
Last but not least, if you ever read something in The Regular Joe that rubs you the wrong way, by all means write it up and send it in. It’s all opinion after all, and yours is just as valid as ours. When we’re wrong we’ll say so. When we’re not, we’ll say that too. Either way, our ears are open, and as Dr. Frazier Crane says, “We’re listening.”