“After six years of rock ‘n’ roll, the Lime Spider has decided to call it quits. The live music venue on South Main St., once a hot spot for local music, small national acts and a wide-ranging beer selection, closed its doors early Sunday morning. During its heyday, the Lime Spider offered more than 150 different kinds of beer.”
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After six years of rock ‘n’ roll, the Lime Spider has decided to call it quits. The live music venue on South Main St., once a hot spot for local music, small national acts and a wide-ranging beer selection, closed its doors early Sunday morning.

During its heyday, the Lime Spider offered more than 150 different kinds of beer. By the time Saturday night’s farewell show came around, the bar’s beer menu had dwindled to about 10 brands.

The rumor around Akron is that owner Danny Basone plans to reopen in November as an upscale, but affordable, restaurant. Mike Stangelo, a bartender at the Lime Spider, said that Basone decided to remodel the bar into a restaurant in order to attract a different crowd.

When it was still open for business, the Lime Spider served an eclectic lunch menu, but plans for the restaurant will surely include a larger selection of entrees. It has also been rumored that the former Lime Spider will feature higher-end liquor in addition to a diverse menu of beer. So far, a name for the restaurant has not been decided upon, according to Stangelo.

However, since the remodeling of the downtown venue calls for the stage to be taken out, Saturday night was the last chance for patrons to hear live music at the Lime Spider. In the past, the Lime Spider has supported local acts as well as larger, national acts.

On Saturday night, a large crowd gathered in the packed bar to hear Radar Secret Service, Interfuse and the Patrick Sweaney Band. Audience members punctuated the end of the Radar Secret Service set with shouts of four more years, in reference to the bar, not the band.

This was also, however, accompanied by the unpleasant smell of human fecal matter drifting from the hallway by the stairwell. Someone, apparently, had thought it necessary to relieve themselves in the hallway. This was not a typical occurrence for the Lime Spider, according to patrons at the farewell show. Luckily, the mess was soon taken care of, and when Interfuse took the stage, the smell was hardly noticeable.

Stangelo, who worked at the Lime Spider for three and a half years, said the popularity of clubs like the Lime Spider comes and goes in cycles, and that six years for such a club is a fairly good run. People aren’t always interested in live music, according to the former bartender.

Stangelo also said that even if every event was not always packed to the brim, the bands that played there had a good time, partly due to the high-quality sound system. Both local and national acts were always treated right by the Lime Spider, and the layout was also pretty ideal for bands, Stangelo said.

The closing of the Lime Spider will leave a void in the Akron music scene.

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” #1.1361865:1173156146.jpg:20070910_limespider_gk4.jpg:he Lime Spider hosted its last live music event and shut its doors for good last Saturday. :Gary Krueger / The Buchtelite”