SkyBar Cafe in downtown Auburn has become a staple of Auburn nightlife. The bar's weekly drink specials and massive space for bands and dancing have made it one of the most popular bars in the city.
However, Skybar owners and brothers Pat and Dan Grider are not content with their success thus far.
SkyBar is undergoing renovations that will add a rooftop bar to the building. The rooftop bar will extend from the front of Magnolia Avenue to the side of Wright Street, allowing for picturesque views of Toomer's Corner and downtown Auburn.
The rooftop will increase capacity from 1,500 people to 2,100 people, and renovations should be completed between August and September of this year.
"The only thing I've seen like this was in Vegas at Caesar's Palace," Pat said.
A rooftop bar has been part of the Grider brothers' plan since they bought the bar seven years ago.
"This was initially an idea we wanted to do," Pat said. "We had to start from the bottom and build SkyBar."
They began by getting the bottom floor completely up to code. Last year, a V.I.P. section was built around the dance floor, and plans were drawn up for a rooftop bar.
The rooftop will have seating for 600 patrons, and it will have a different atmosphere than the rest of SkyBar. The rooftop will serve food, daiquiris and different types of draft beer, all items that SkyBar does not presently serve.
"It will be for people that don't want to be crowded and want room to breathe," Dan said. "It's got a lot of positives being up higher, and of course, the view's great."
When complete, the rooftop will give SkyBar a crowd during happy hour.
"We can open at 5 in the afternoon, and professors and students can come after work and have a beer and a piece of pizza," Pat said.
SkyBar currently has a front area for bands and a back area for dancing. With this addition, the Griders hope to add a whole new crowd to SkyBar.
"Everybody's different. Everybody has different things they like. Some people want to dance. Some people want to be in front of a band. Some people just want to sit and relax and socialize," Dan said. "(The rooftop) is more of a laid back area."
The new bar has many students excited.
"I think a rooftop bar at Sky is going to attract a lot of people and add a different atmosphere to downtown Auburn," said Erick Cooper, senior in accounting.
Cooper is also excited about SkyBar serving food.
"I tend to get hungry late at night, and this will be convenient," Cooper said.
The Grider's are also hoping to draw a large crowd on gamedays.
The rooftop will open early on football Satudays and serve food and drinks during the game. There will also be a large television outside.
"This to me is more like 'the SkyBar.'" Pat said. "This, when people see, it will be the SkyBar." Pat said.
Pat also stressed that they are not expanding just to be bigger.
"We're just trying to add another thing to SkyBar that can draw more people out and have more people have a better time in Auburn," Pat said. "It's not about getting bigger. We just like to add more fun stuff to do."
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