The Lakeside Inn in Middletown recently reopened under new ownership after being shuttered for eight years. The building clocks in at just over 100 years old, and has a storied past with outlaws, both real and fictional.
The Lakeside Inn has been recently revived by the Mack family, and ownership is split three ways between Brian Mack and his two children, Josh and Sierra Mack. The building was owned by a friend of Brian’s for years. They had been losing money on the building and were looking to get out of their deal. Brian purchased the building with the intention of flipping it, a side hustle and hobby of his for years that complemented his full-time job as a real estate appraiser. He also knew if he didn’t purchase the building, the city had planned to raze it.
It would’ve been a shame to lose a building with so much history in its walls. Josh says The Lakeside Inn is reportedly one of the last places Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde fame) patronized before he was locked up. And rumor has it that the infamous Midwest bank robber, John Dillinger, squirreled away cash in a boarded-up stairwell in The Lakeside Inn. Most recently, the bar hosted the cast and crew of The Bikeriders, a film about a Midwestern motorcycle club turned biker gang, featuring Hollywood heartthrobs Tom Hardy and Austin Butler.
Not only did the film’s subject matter coincide perfectly with Lakeside’s history, but the timing also couldn’t have been better. The building was in bad shape when the Macks bought it. Just when Brian was staring down a laundry list of much-needed repairs, Hollywood called. They not only wanted to film a scene of The Bikeriders at the bar, but they wanted to set fire to it.
And set fire to it they did. The crew rented the space for a few months and made a handful of restorations prior to filming — electrical repairs, light fixture replacements and shelving on the back bar — all fixes that saved the Macks from footing the bill. In some ways, they left the bar better than they found it, cleaning up every bit of charred wood and destroyed fixtures, like the awning out front. It was nearing the end of its life, so it wasn’t a bitter loss the day the film crew torched it in the fire scene.
Once they said yes to the filming, the Macks knew they had an opportunity to dovetail their marketing efforts surrounding The Lakeside Inn’s grand opening with the release of The Bikeriders. The film was originally set to debut in December of 2023, but due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the release was set back to June of this year.
“It was kind of unbelievable, the timing,” Josh says. “Our goal was to be open by the time the movie came out, and [in December] we were still jumping through hoops to get our liquor license, still had some renovations, and about 50 other things to finish.” The movie’s release date was set back to June of 2024, and the Macks took a collective sigh of relief. Once they wrapped up repairs following filming and all the other renovations they needed to check off their list, they ended up beating the film to the punch and opening for business in April.
A few days before The Bikeriders premiered at the Mariemont Theater, Josh got a call from casting and they mentioned they had two extra tickets to the show. Josh and Sierra were able to attend the premier and reconnect with the film’s director, Jeff Nichols. When the film hit theaters, they bought out a theater and brought 40 of their closest friends and family with them to see the movie, then took it back to the bar for an afterparty.
They hosted their grand opening in June, and things have been running smoothly ever since. “We actually have been very lucky. We are in the black. We’re making money every single week. We’re seeing new customers, and — knock on wood — we haven’t had to call the police once,” Josh laughs.
The Lakeside Inn has steadily gained business after its grand opening, and Josh says he sees new faces almost every time the bar hosts live music, two to three times per week. Josh and his father are musicians and were adamant about making music a pillar of their business.
Prior to moving home to help get the bar off the ground, Josh lived in Nashville for about seven years, where he made a career out of performing on Broadway. He still has a community in Music City, and regularly invites his friends to perform at The Lakeside Inn. Josh says that in a town full of sports bars, he wants The Lakeside Inn to be known for its music scene, and the makeup of the building bolsters Josh’s dream for the space.
“It’s something we couldn’t plan but happened to be right on point. We have a really old PA system, but it just sounds so badass in this room,” Josh says, adding that the wooden interior of the bar is generous to the room’s acoustics. You can catch Josh performing at least once a week during open mic nights.
Beyond the music, The Lakeside Inn runs a happy hour special every day from 2-7 p.m.; $2 off bottles and $3 off drafts. Though they don’t have food at the bar, they encourage their guests to patronize Starvin’ Marvin’s across the street, a relatively new neighbor who conveniently specializes in classic bar food.
“I think we have the coolest vibe, coolest aesthetic and good prices. We just want to be the best bar in town,” Josh says. It’s uncommon, he mentions, to have the owners belly up to the bar alongside patrons and ask about their families. “It’s important to us to keep that authentic, old-school vibe in the family. We’re like the Sopranos, but without the crime,” he laughs.
The Lakeside Inn, 2019 Tytus Ave., Middletown. More info: facebook.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat's Aug. 21 print edition.
