A bar, a restaurant, a place to meet.
The Globe has been in this spot in Downtown Athens, Georgia since 1989. Good drinks, good food, good company. Many things have changed since it first opened. Some things have stayed the same.
We serve food and drink, host events and -most important of all- foster a community.
For our menus, click here.
For directions, click here.
For events and room rentals, click here.
To learn more about our history, scroll on down.
Our history
The Globe opened in the fall of 1989 serving the first pint of Guinness in downtown Athens. It was a Saturday.
‘We did not announce or advertise, we simply unlocked the door, by five o’clock the line stretched two blocks. The building was possibly built to be a laundry for the hotel across the street. The laundry opened in 1897. I suspect the building or at least the foundation and basement are older than that. It became a furniture store during the 1940’s and 50’s, and had several other incarnations, but the Globe has been its longest occupant.
The Globe was built almost entirely by friends and family. The original staff came largely from the University Library. Those wonderful people put their stamp on the place so deeply, that you can still feel it today. We didn’t have much of a plan. The plan was mostly what we didn’t want it to be. When we were building it, I had a friend, (a rather famous painter and filmmaker) who stopped in every week to look around. His seal of approval was “Well, you haven’t fucked it up yet”.
The horseshoe bar was something I saw in Barcelona, it had just the right amount of distance across so that you felt comfortable engaging the other patrons or not.
Everything that went on our walls meant something to us. It sort of turned out to resemble an early American schoolhouse aesthetic, the flag, the clock, the blackboard, George Washington etc. Art R. gave (permanent loan) us that magnificent mural over the bar, “The History of Wine Making”. Amazing people started coming in, and every one changed us a little. The Berlin wall came down November 9, 1989. On November 11 a friend walked in the door with a chunk of it. Persons who now have a global following adopted us as their secret hangout. Permanent friendships were formed. Things came together. And I’m happy to say are still fun, funky, shifting and exciting, lo these many years later. We’ve never chased fashion, we made the kind of place WE want to hang out in, if that’s not your style, that’s fine, it’s a big wide world. So yes it’s a little eccentric but we do strive for excellence. And the Globe has secrets to discover. But that takes some time. Thanks for your patronage.’
