Sixth Street Dive new owners say atmosphere and food won't change, but big plans are ahead

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After more than 20 years of owning and operating bars in Lafayette, Jeff Hamann frequently joked with his wife he had "one more good bar" left in him, seeing that at 52 years old he would someday need to slow down.

So when the opportunity to purchase the Sixth Street Dive came about, Hamann and his business partner, Mike Felt, couldn't let that "good bar" pass them by. Owners of the Knickerbocker, Digby's Pub and Patio and the 648 Bourbon and Cigar Lounge, the duo have founded identities for the bars while maintaining Greater Lafayette history

After the Sixth Street Dive opened at 827 N Sixth St. in 2016, it quickly gained a following among locals for its Tex-Mex tacos, drink specials alongside shots of Malört liquor, and old, nostalgic movies playing on TV's around the dive.

Hamann explained none of that will change under the new ownership.

"It's very important that Mike and I don't come in and turn this into Digby's, or the Knickerbocker, or the 648 Bourbon and Cigar Lounge," Hamann said. "We understand our responsibility to keep the Dive the Dive... but that being said, you can have a dive bar where the backs of your legs don't stick to duct tape on the bar stools."

Nearly a month into their ownership of the bar, Hamann said they have made maintenance and upkeep a priority, working to get air conditioning into the bar, replacing bar stools and making needed repairs to the bathroom plumbing. But the atmosphere of the bar will remain the same as it has been known for, as well as the food, Hamann said.

As part of the bar's sale, Hamann and Felt said they also were given the recipes for all of the Dive's menu items, but Felt said he wanted to take their efforts of keeping things the same as they've been known for a step further — bringing back the original chefs.

"I contacted a person who use to work here to get someone else's number, who then got me in touch with the original two chefs," Felt said. "So it was like a friend of a friend of a friend type of deal."

With the original chefs back in action, Hamann said they will be working with them to continue expanding the menu, offering weekly specials, like birria tacos, and bringing back Sunday brunch beginning Sunday, May 26.

In the immediate, Hamann said the focus is on upkeep and maintaining a happy staff alongside happy customers, but looking further into the future, the business partners have big plans ahead of them.

"Upstairs above the bar, there is room for a pool table and maybe some dart machines, but in order to do that we would have to put in a second egress to be up to fire code along with a sprinkler system installed, which all of that would be several thousands of dollars," Hamann said. "That may be an area we could do private parties and open it on Friday and Saturday nights. Our motivation and model for this is like Harry's Chocolate Shop, to have our own cool little fishbowl up there, but right now our financial resources have gone into the overall purchase and the active renovations."

But with some of those renovations Hamann and Felt are working on could come with some new and welcome changes, too, Hamann said. Looking at outdoor opportunities, Hamann said he is currently working with the city to place a handful of tables and chairs outside the bar along the Sixth Street side.

"Eventually, too, we would like to open these windows along with Sixth Street side of the building and have a drink rail installed, so that people can sit outside of the building sort of looking inward," Hamann said.

Looking at the environment of Lafayette's north end, Hamann said he is excited to be apart of its redevelopment period, pointing to new construction projects for additional housing in the northern areas off downtown.

"Mike and I understand that this north end part of town is going through a bit of gentrification," Hamann said. "We feel like we can be a focal point as a restaurant and a watering hole for not just the new places and folks moving into those properties, but making our corner here a little nicer so that everyone feels welcome. We want this to be inviting."

With new plans for the bar ahead of them, Hamann and Felt said they wouldn't be able to do any of this had it not been for the Sixth Street Dive's founders and previous owners, crediting them for making the bar what it is known for today.

"Mike and I were impresses with the quality of the menu and the cool vibe they created here, and we have to thank them for that, because that's why we were interested in purchasing it in the first place," Hamann said. "While we give the building some needed TLC, we are excited all that we have planned moving forward into the future as this area of town keeps getting polished up bit by bit."

Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Sixth Street Dive's new owners have big plans, here's what to expect