Former downtown department store building is to become an entertainment venue aimed at a younger aud

BRISTOL, Tenn. – An entertainment venue unique to other downtown Bristol establishments is taking form inside what once was the largest department store between Roanoke and Knoxville.

The old H.P. King building at 620 State St., now owned by Ricky and Rhonda Caudill, is being transformed into the 5 O’Clock Bar and Grill.

White paper covers the main entrance, and it is also used with black lettering on two storefront windows to announce what’s coming: "5 O’Clock Bar, where it’s always quitting time, proudly presents Ravens Claw Gothic Novelty Shoppe." Another sign reads: "Texas Hold ’Em – Darts – Pool, Karaoke – Live Entertainment."

The owners have so far declined offers to talk about what they have planned for the nearly 40,000-square-foot, three-floor building built in 1915.

Rhonda Caudill said last week she would rather introduce what’s in store about a week prior to their grand opening. She also declined comment on Friday.

"They’ve indicated it’s going to be an entertainment venue with a restaurant, and I think their principal aim is to bring in live entertainment every weekend with some special events with name bands," said Mike Sparks, Bristol Tennessee deputy city manager/economic development.

Sparks said a large number of younger people are looking at downtown Bristol for their entertainment wants and needs.

"They’ve said they will be open to what the community wants, and I imagine next year they will host a stage for Rhythm & Roots," he said.

The Caudills currently operate a 5 O’Clock Bar and Grill at 35025 Brittany Lee Drive, Glade Spring, Va., where bands such as Caiged Angel and Octane Overload are booked to entertain customers, according to the groups’ Web sites.

Meanwhile, people strolling through downtown Bristol are privy to a taste of what will be offered by the items placed in the two large windows.

The items include a mannequin dressed in Gothic clothing, a table covered in black cloth with a crystal ball sitting on top, and carved stone gargoyles. Other items include a card table complete with chairs and cards, pool sticks and a dart board.

"I did a double-take the first time I saw the signs," said Cheryl Brown, who manages Uncle Sam’s Loan Office near the new business.

"I’m all for the live entertainment, but this may be on a bigger scale than we’re use to seeing. The Gothic thing kind of shocked me. To me, it symbolizes satanic worship. At the same time, this is a pawn shop. And there was a time when people thought all pawn shops were shady somehow."

On first reference in most dictionaries, encyclopedias and Web sites, "Gothic" relates to medieval architectural styles, or the Goths, East German tribes of the third and fourth centuries.

Gothic also is defined as having to do with a type of fiction writing in the 18th and 19th centuries "using remote settings and a sinister, eerie atmosphere to suggest horror and mystery," according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

Goth is also a subculture many young people have adopted and includes, among other things, dressing in black attire, dyed black hair and makeup.

"You never know if you don’t try," John Leonard, owner of Sidetrack Tobacco on the Virginia side of State Street, said of the new business’s success. "We need different things in our town, and it could help out as far as bringing in more business to downtown, including us."

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