Story by: Bryce Hollins
During the morning and midday, Marty’s Bar is dark and mostly quiet. A few regulars come in to have breakfast, beer or a bite to eat now, much less than they used to. Some come with company, and others alone, but those still there share conversations and laughs all the same.
At night, the atmosphere starts to pick up. From the family dinners to the college drinkers, voices start to jump off the walls, each seemingly trying to outdo the others. Food and drink orders get repeated loudly as the grills hiss back in the kitchen, exactly how it has always been.
Today, Marty’s Bar is a constant in the Mount Pleasant bar scene. Both college students and townies alike can be found within, but it wasn’t always like that.
When Marty Naumes first bought what was then known as Cascarelli’s in the late 1980s, Marty’s Bar was known as more of a “townie bar” where community members and families could go to get a drink or a good but cheap meal.
The everyday $8.95 New York Strip dinner special was hard to beat and plenty of people took advantage. From 8 a.m. until close, a steady stream of people would walk in under that bright white “Marty’s Bar” sign.
Over time that slowly started to change. As the regulars got older and started to move on, a new demographic of customers started to make its way into the picture. The daughter of Marty Naumes himself, Shannon French, was partly to blame.
“In 1994 I graduated high school and went to college and I started bartending there,” said French. “I joined a sorority on campus and a handful of my sorority sisters started bartending with me, and then the college students started coming”
With decently priced food and drinks, a bar top, a place for darts as well as being open until 2 a.m., Marty’s Bar became a perfect location for the late-night crowd. Though in the process, they never strayed away from the people who helped make it what it is today.
“The combination of local customers and college students is what sets [Marty’s] apart,” said French. “Both groups have an opportunity to learn a lot from each other and enjoy each other’s company.”
Though it can be difficult at times, Marty’s Bar embraces this combination of demographics and sees it as a positive. To them, everyone is human and a little bit of hospitality and decency always pays off in the end. In a way, Marty’s perfectly encapsulates everything the people of Mount Pleasant are about, both on and off campus.
While Marty’s Bar is a representation of Mount Pleasant as a whole, it is also a representation of Marty Naumes himself. He now bought the bar over 30 years ago, though you can still see him there almost every day, except for when he goes to Florida for the winter, and then Shannon takes over the operations.
Not only is Marty active in his business, but he is also active within the community. He has previously donated to events and organizations such as the Special Olympics and community food drives, but his daughter would describe him more as a “silent donor.”
Community is everything to a business like Marty’s Bar. Marty doesn’t need to be recognized for his contributions because, in his mind, that is what he is supposed to do as a community member himself. He doesn’t need to have the longest line down Main Street outside his business when he has helped support a community that he knows will support him back.
“I feel like we currently have a good balance of areas where locals can go and have fun and an area that attracts college students,” said French. “I feel like it is a direct result of our community, which is people who are trying to make a safe environment and treat everyone to a good time”
In a town where students and townies are often separate, Marty’s Bar does its best to create an environment for better understanding of each other, while also serving good food and drinks.
At night, the atmosphere starts to pick up. From the family dinners to the college drinkers, voices start to jump off the walls, each seemingly trying to outdo the others. Food and drink orders get repeated loudly as the grills hiss back in the kitchen, exactly how it has always been.
Today, Marty’s Bar is a constant in the Mount Pleasant bar scene. Both college students and townies alike can be found within, but it wasn’t always like that.
When Marty Naumes first bought what was then known as Cascarelli’s in the late 1980s, Marty’s Bar was known as more of a “townie bar” where community members and families could go to get a drink or a good but cheap meal.
The everyday $8.95 New York Strip dinner special was hard to beat and plenty of people took advantage. From 8 a.m. until close, a steady stream of people would walk in under that bright white “Marty’s Bar” sign.
Over time that slowly started to change. As the regulars got older and started to move on, a new demographic of customers started to make its way into the picture. The daughter of Marty Naumes himself, Shannon French, was partly to blame.
“In 1994 I graduated high school and went to college and I started bartending there,” said French. “I joined a sorority on campus and a handful of my sorority sisters started bartending with me, and then the college students started coming”
With decently priced food and drinks, a bar top, a place for darts as well as being open until 2 a.m., Marty’s Bar became a perfect location for the late-night crowd. Though in the process, they never strayed away from the people who helped make it what it is today.
“The combination of local customers and college students is what sets [Marty’s] apart,” said French. “Both groups have an opportunity to learn a lot from each other and enjoy each other’s company.”
Though it can be difficult at times, Marty’s Bar embraces this combination of demographics and sees it as a positive. To them, everyone is human and a little bit of hospitality and decency always pays off in the end. In a way, Marty’s perfectly encapsulates everything the people of Mount Pleasant are about, both on and off campus.
While Marty’s Bar is a representation of Mount Pleasant as a whole, it is also a representation of Marty Naumes himself. He now bought the bar over 30 years ago, though you can still see him there almost every day, except for when he goes to Florida for the winter, and then Shannon takes over the operations.
Not only is Marty active in his business, but he is also active within the community. He has previously donated to events and organizations such as the Special Olympics and community food drives, but his daughter would describe him more as a “silent donor.”
Community is everything to a business like Marty’s Bar. Marty doesn’t need to be recognized for his contributions because, in his mind, that is what he is supposed to do as a community member himself. He doesn’t need to have the longest line down Main Street outside his business when he has helped support a community that he knows will support him back.
“I feel like we currently have a good balance of areas where locals can go and have fun and an area that attracts college students,” said French. “I feel like it is a direct result of our community, which is people who are trying to make a safe environment and treat everyone to a good time”
In a town where students and townies are often separate, Marty’s Bar does its best to create an environment for better understanding of each other, while also serving good food and drinks.