Huckleberry Saloon Rides into the Sunset

Three years ago, a saloon opened in Ishgard. Beginning its life as a small bar and gambling den in a lalafell's basement, that saloon quickly got the attention of folks looking for the kind of atmosphere it provided. That was the origin of the Huckleberry Saloon, and its founder was none other than the famed Doc Laladay.

Laladay is a figure of note in the Etheirys cultural and artistic scenes. Earlier this year, his writing has been staged as the play The Great Train Robbery, which launched the theatrical company The Reimagineers. Mogstock celebrated his nameday this year with Ballafell, the game where two teams use torrents of water to knock a lalafell into a goal. If there's a major festival, odds are good Laladay will at least be there, if not be one of the people working behind the scenes. His reputation, mustache, and signature 'yeehaw hat' have made this Ul'dahni mogul an instantly recognizable face. 

And his home for years has been the Huckleberry. But this moon, the Huckleberry opened its swinging doors for the last time to its weekly crowd. Laladay had chosen the third anniversary as the time to ride off into the sunset.

"It was so hard, and a gradual thing," Laladay told the BCC. "But looking at everything on my plate, and I think a lot of our community friends would agree, I was perhaps involved with too much, and needed to make some changes."

When it first started in his basement, the Huck (as its regulars knew it) was a lot of promise just waiting for a moment to happen. From just a place for his own friends to when they started to advertise, to when they outgrew first their location in Empyrean and later in Goblet's Brimming Heart, to going out on a winning hand, it took a lot of dedication and more than a bit of luck from a lot of people to make the saloon such a dominant force in the Eorzean venue scene.

Laladay loved the Huck the most when it was reaching for heights of creativity, combining concepts that seemed disperate but hit a unique point of connection.

"I fell in love with what we were doing because of the community that came together around it, and the relentlessly positive yeehaw energy that chugga chugga'd the venue forward over time like the good old wild west venue train that it was," he said. "We had opening after opening that was memorable. The ones that stand out the most are probably where we did things that I thought were unique, and yet familiar to people. I'm a big believer that if you can capture two ideas that don't often go together, and create an intersection where the familar meets the unique, then you're on track to create something super special." 

There were also quiet poker nights, there were hit events like "Be My Goth Valentine," there were ways of supporting the community like the Pride Cup barfighting event, and there were moments of sheer joy like the Summer Starlight covered in the Courier's inaugural issue. Laladay recounted how the band No Holds Bard debuted at the Huck for just himself and a bartender before going on to be on some of the realm's biggest stages. Moving on from all that is something Laladay didn't come to easily.

"It was very hard for me to let go, there is an art to letting go, a way to do it right and well, and a way to maybe get it wrong. I think we closed the Huckleberry the right way," he said. "I think what I will miss most is the people. When you have been running a venue for years, you get into a sort of rhythm, and the venue no longer feels new to you. But then an Eorzean comes into the venue, and it's new to them, and they send you a note about how much of a wonderful time they had, or that the Huck was the first venue they've ever visited and it refreshes you all over again."

But just because he's bowing out of weekly open nights, that doesn't mean he's hanging up his yeehaw hat, or that the Huck will never be seen again. Laladay is transitioning into focusing on his event organization skills, with Lalaween still on the horizon for All Saints' Wake and another play for the Reimagineers in the spring. The Huck's yeehaw energy, meanwhile, is being poured into a new collaborative venture called Club Crossroads, which will open its doors once a moon. Crossroads was also involved in Summer Starlight, and will be hosting more special events in the future.

"I would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported the Huckleberry Saloon these past few years! It has been a ride and a half, that is for sure. I will still be out and about in Eorzea, and will always greet ya with a hug and a dote even if our swinging saloon doors have come to a close," he said. "I think I will probably become nostalgic for the Huck and its traditions from time to time, but I'm hopeful that the friendships we have made and the relationships we have built over time carry over into our new adventures like Club Crossroads and special events like Lalaween!"

While the saloon's doors may have stopped swinging, Laladay promises that the good ol' fashioned yeehaw spirit will ride again.