Cheers!
Dracut has a new neighborhood tavern, and owners Dan and Dalila Melo are hoping it’s the type of place where everybody knows your name.
In fact, they’ve named the spot -- at the corner of Textile Avenue and Honora Avenue, the former home of George’s Café -- Everybody’s Sports Bar.
Dracut Economic Development hosted a ribbon-cutting for Everybody’s Sports Bar on September 21.
According to Dan, “We were sitting at home trying to think of a good name, and she goes, ‘Wasn’t there a TV show about a bar that had a song about everyone knowing your name?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but I’m pretty sure the name Cheers is trademarked.’”
But she liked that idea of a place where everyone knows everyone else.
“I thought, ‘Why not call it Everybody’s Place?’” Dalila says. “And that became Everybody’s Sports Bar.”
Dan and Dalila raised three children in Methuen and were active at the Portuguese American Club in Lawrence, where Dan is vice president of the Board of Directors. So once the kids were grown, they decided to start their own business, and a tavern moved to the top of the list because of their experience helping to run the club.
“We saw this building and decided, why not open our own bar?” Dalila says.
In addition to their jobs (Dan is leaving his to run Everybody’s Sports Bar), the Melos own two Airbnb homes in Salisbury and Hampton. But they wanted a business they could run together, along with their sons.
And they like that George’s Café had built up a loyal following, mainly made up of people in the neighborhood. They hoped that those folks would want to hang out at a bar they can walk to and from, and were ecstatic when that’s exactly what happened when they held a soft opening on Aug. 31.
“We opened it and everybody started storming back in,” Dalila says. “We’re so excited to open and so excited to be here in Dracut.”
Everybody’s Sports Bar does not have a full kitchen, but they do offer some food specials, including Waffle Wednesdays, charcuterie boards on Sundays, small sandwiches and premade pizzas, and other small bar items. It has a 60-person capacity, as well as two pool tables. Full Lottery options, including Keno, will soon be available.