John Brandt, owner of the War Eagle Supper Club, announced the bar will be closing after 78 years because of an increase in rent prices. Since this admission, frequenters and employees of the War Eagle Supper Club have shown how they feel about it on Facebook, particularly the page Anna White, employee at the War Eagle Supper Club, made called,“Save the War Eagle Supper Club.”
As of Thursday, April 9, the page has over 7,000 likes.
“I hope people realize that if this goes away, its not just going to be able to just come back,” White said. “I want people to really help me come up with ideas and ways that I can help save the place.”
Christy White, former War Eagle Supper Club employee and regular, said she had a relative who turned their house into a historical monument so it couldn’t be knocked down. Anna White said they were looking into doing this for the War Eagle Supper Club.
“If that doesn’t go through then I want to start a GoFundMe account and at least pay for the rent for another year, and then, you know, think about how we can go about getting rent for the next year because, right now, they tripled our rent,” White said. “They don’t want us there.”
Brandt said they plan to have their final event on New Year’s Eve, 2015. They are having the band Telluride play for their final act.
“That was the first band I ever saw here when I was a college student, and when we built the addition in 1984, they were the first band to play on the new stage,” Brandt said. “They were our number one band for over 21 or 22 years.”
Brandt said a lot of people don’t realize the types of talent they have hosted at the War Eagle Supper Club over the years, including artists such as Kenny Chesney, Widespread Panic, Luke Bryan, Zach Brown Band, and Leon Russell.
Brandt said he is exploring options for opening the War Eagle Supper Club at a new location, and, if they can transfer the license, they plan on keeping the same name.
White said she has been hearing rumors the War Eagle Supper Club may close for two years.
“My boss told me Saturday night right when I got off of work, and I couldn’t even finish talking to him because I started crying,” White said. “It was so shocking to know that the rumors were really real.”
White said she has already asked if she could continue working for the War Eagle Supper Club if they open a new location.
The news of the War Eagle Supper Club closing came out just months after another Auburn landmark, The Bank Vault, announced that they would also be closing their location after May 30.
As both of these historical locations are closing, White said she thinks Auburn is going to be different.
“Whenever you think about Auburn ... you think about Toomer’s Corner, and the University and the War Eagle Supper Club … and The Bank Vault,” White said. “I don’t think people are really comprehending what’s going away.”
Christy White said she thinks the War Eagle Supper Club could be saved if enough people show their support.
“It’s a landmark in this city," White said. "It’s been there forever. These kids that are here now they don’t realize what the Supper Club is and what the Bank Vault is because they don’t frequent the places like me and all of my friends did.”
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