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| - I've driven past the Mill Tavern plenty of times during my stay in the area. Located just one street north of me on Wilson Mills & Bishop, I was never too keen on finding too much about this place either. That was until recently....
From my many drive-by's, all I knew was that it resided in an ugly brick building in a strip mall and had this ancient, medieval font signage illuminated by partially burnt-out neon lights announcing not only the name of the bar, but also proudly advertising "liquor" and "food". I envisioned a filthy saloon clogged with blind drunks, toothless prostitutes and stray dogs. Once inside, all of my preconceived notions were put to rest. Kind of....
On my latest endeavor to familiarize myself with all the little hole-in-the-wall dives in my neighborhood, a project long overdue, the Mill Tavern was one of my first stops. It was 3:30pm by the time I started my quest. At this time of the day, the only patrons are that of the unemployed, broken spirits or lost souls. By association, I suppose I was one of them.
Upon my entrance into the dimly lit, musty smelling tavern, I was greeted by a friendly middle-aged bartender and a sloppy drunk Russian at the bar. I could tell the bartender was happy to have another customer. Playing from each of the TV's were Family Feud reruns hosted by Ray Combs, then at 4pm, Cleveland's own sensationalized and over-the-top news program, 19 Action News. On entertainment value alone, I was highly satisfied.
The night shift bartender entered around 4pm and tugged the lights off from the swirling ceiling fans above. The only illumination left being that of the glowing TV sets & keno machines along with strings of old Christmas lights illuminating the liquor bottles behind the bar. Then, perhaps by coincidence, one of the TV's lost it's signal. The drunken Russian blamed the loss of reception on the ceiling lights being turned off. Eventually the bartender gave in and entertained his theory which turned out to be wrong. While on the topic of ceiling fans, he babbled on frivolously about the merits of ceiling fans and the advantage of having them run clockwise vs. counter-clockwise during the summer.
To the bartenders disappointment, she was on her own with this one. It was time to say my goodbyes and move on. Based on the hospitality, good nature and entertainment I was treated to though, I will be back to support this long standing, community watering hole. Old Mill Tavern, it's been a long time coming. I'll see you soon.
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