Bringing It Back: New Owners Revive Horseshoe Bar’s Storied Past

by Kim Gasuras, Freelance Author | FreeWire Magazine — Your News, Your Voice

BUCYRUS — One of the reasons Will Fernatt wanted to purchase the Horseshoe Bar on Washington Square in downtown Bucyrus was because of the memories it held for him.

“I worked here back in 1998-ish,” said Will. “I have a lot of fun memories, so when I was approached about buying the business, I really wanted to make a go of it.”

He and his wife, Crystal Fernatt, purchased the bar from Dean and Terri Stuckman a few months ago.

Will is not the only one with memories tied to the popular business.

“My uncle owned the business back in the day,” said Bucyrus Mayor Bruce Truka who is excited the new owners are keeping the business going.

Truka’s cousin, Mike Smith, has photos of the business in the early 1960s when his grandparents, John and Mary Truka, owned the bar.

“My grandparents owned the bar. They also owned the grocery store that was located where the patio area is now for the Crazy Fox,” said Smith.

Smith said the back bar was considered the oldest bar in Ohio.

“It was not the business itself but the back bar that was the oldest,” said Smith.

Patti Ryland said her mom, Geneva, and Dick Heidle owned the bar for a time and made some changes.

“My mom was the first one to have dancers at the bar,” said Ryland.

She said her mom also put in the tube for dropping bottles to the basement of the bar. Ryland said eventually her mom and Heidle went separate ways and the back bar was sold to a private owner in Cleveland.

Her mom eventually opened the once popular Geneva’s Bar at another location in town.

Will and Crystal have been finding old pictures in the basement and throughout the business.

“I am putting those up because I want the history to be back on the walls,” said Crystal.

One of those photos is of a 500-pound laser-guided GBU-12 bomb with “Compliments of the Horseshoe Bar” written on it.

“I took that pic after me and my load crew put the bombs on the jet. It flew a combat mission and dropped them later that day,” said Ron Branham who was a Sergeant in the US Air Force during the Gulf War.

Will is also a veteran and served in the US Army. His son, Robert, is following in his footsteps.

“Our sons, Robert and Logan, are part of the Fernatt Family, LLC. So we own the bar together. Robert helps out when he is on leave from the Army while Logan works at the bar around his full-time job,” said Will.

While the Fernatts are not currently hiring, they do have one employee.

“We have Brittany, our bartender. We’re not hiring yet, but we hope to in the future,” Crystal said.

While Will worked at the Horseshoe in the 1990s, Crystal is no stranger to the bar business either.

“I was the canteen manager at the Amvets in Upper Sandusky for 20 and a half years,” she said.

Right now, the family’s main goal is to bring back the loyal customer base the bar had years ago.

“You don’t have a bar without customers,” Crystal said. “We’re seeing the older crowd come back, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Karaoke is held every Friday night and they’re also showcasing local talent, including comedians, bands, singers and other talent from the community.

They have also applied for a Sunday liquor license.

“For now, it’s beer sales only on Sundays,” Crystal said.

The current hours for the Horseshoe are:

Wednesday and Thursday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Closed Monday and Tuesday.

The couple has been collecting donations to purchase enough school supplies to fill 50 bags and according to Will, they hit their goal of 50 book bags filled with supplies.

“We made a promise to give back as much as we can because we have amazing customers that support us and we will keep that promise every chance we get,” said the Fernatts in a recent post on their Facebook page.

The book bags filled with school supplies will be handed out in the parking lot of the business from noon until they are gone on Aug. 11.

For additional information and updates, follow the Horseshoe’s Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083091260980.