By Sarah Richardson
Mark Trent and Dan Withrow have joined forces to revive the Sportsman Tavern, a Ronceverte staple and one of the oldest bars in the state of West Virginia, after more than four years of planning this passion project. Originally opened in 1930, the Sportsman was a popular spot for much of the county throughout the 1970’s and ‘80s.
Mark and Dan are both Roncevertians, born and raised, and met years ago when Dan performed a home inspection for Mark, who was moving home to Ronceverte.
“We actually first bonded over the town of Ronceverte, we were talking about how much we love it here,” said Mark. “It was a really big deal for me that I moved home, bought property here, and restored it.”
Dan and Mark kept in touch throughout Mark’s home renovation process, and when it came to light that the Sportsman Tavern was potentially available for purchase, they started to put their heads together with their dreams for the space.
“That was around four years ago, when the talking started,” explained Mark, “Every time we came in, it just had a special feeling, you know? We’d meet here, we’d have beers, we’d talk about it, we were both interested, and then the pandemic hit so we all took a break. When we came back, I told Dan that I couldn’t do this alone, and Dan told me that if I was going to do it he’d join me, and then we both just jumped in.” July 1 of 2022 was when the pair officially started construction and an overhaul of the space.
However, this isn’t Dan’s first rodeo. Or his second. “This is my third time down here,” said Dan. “I had the Sportsman in 1975 and 1976 with a partner, when it was the hottest spot in Greenbrier County. Weekends and Tuesday and Thursday nights you couldn’t hardly get in here. I bought it again in ’85, and it was kind of the same way, it was one of the more popular bars.”
When asked why he would purchase the bar for a third time, Dan said he has fond memories of growing up in Ronceverte and spending time in the Sportsman shooting pool when he was as young as 15. “It’s just been a part of my life, and my favorite place to hang out. It just seemed like the right thing.”
He explained, “Of course we hope to make money here, but what we realized we really want is to be a catalyst for future investors in Ronceverte after they see what we’ve done.”
“We also really saw this as a community place,” Mark added, “Even as we’ve been opening we’ve had community meetings here, other planning meetings here of people wanting to talk about having farmer’s markets here in town, food trucks- it’s a meeting space too. It’s sort of just turned into that.”
Mark described the space as an “intimidating” project, but that didn’t stop them from doing a complete overhaul of the space while maintaining the strong history that the building has.
“It has a massive history, lots of stories,” said Mark.
“Some we can tell, some we can’t,” joked Dan.
“We’ve reused every single piece of wood that’s come out of here, because this place used to hold the barber shop, and we pulled the barber shop wall down and that’s what the bar is made of now,” Mark said of the impressive span of wooden bar top that stretches toward the back of the building. Windows from the old Ronceverte Elementary School grace the top of the storefront facing Edgar Avenue, and Ronceverte’s old stoplight is perched right above the front door, fully functional.
“We now have the only stoplight in Ronceverte, and you have to come in the Sportsman to go through it,” Dan laughs.
The original beer cooler from 1975 has been brought back into working condition and will be in use just like in the bar’s heyday. Mark also notes that the bathrooms have been “totally redone.”
Mark credits community support and excited locals for helping make this project happen, with Dan adding that they want to space to be “more family-oriented, probably for the first time ever.” With shuffleboard, foosball, pinball, pool, and TVs for sporting events, they hope the welcoming atmosphere will bring back old friends and entice new ones to visit. Dan noted, “I guarantee we will have the oldest shuffleboard table in the state of West Virginia here, we are going to pick it up tomorrow. It’s a 1930’s antique shuffleboard.”
“We are really cultivating a new environment here,” said Mark. “Essentially, we just want to build a really great hometown bar where everyone is welcome.”
The bar will have over 50 beers on tap, along with wine, champagne, ciders, mimosas, and more. While the grand opening is yet to be held, the duo already plans to expand by opening a kitchen to serve light food such as cold cut sandwiches, pepperoni rolls, and other snacks. They are also working with the City to add outdoor seating in front of the establishment.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and the amazing thing is that Big Draft Brewing has been a huge support, the Briergarten has been a huge support, it’s really been the community coming together too,” explained Mark. “Any help we’ve needed, there’s been a helping hand to help us do it.”
“It’s too many people to name,” said Dan. “It’s just too many people to thank.”
With a grand opening planned for later this month, follow the Sportsman on Facebook at “The Sportsman Tavern” for more details as they become available.
