MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A Middletown bar with roughly 100 years of history is carving out a new chapter: Hollywood.
The Lakeside Inn was a key filming location in the new feature film, “The Bikeriders.”
“It’s just so cool that it happened in this bar,” said Josh Mack, co-owner of the bar.
It wasn’t exactly what the Mack family had in mind when they purchased the property in 2021. At that time, the historic bar had been shuttered for several years.
“Bonnie and Clyde were in here at one point,” said Brian Mack, who is also a part-owner along with Josh and his daughter, Sierra Mack.
Six months after their purchase, they got a surprising call.
“‘Hey, we want to shoot a movie down there,’” Brian said.
The rest is movie magic. Brian said film crews took about three months to renovate the bar and then filmed at the property for four days. They even kept the name in the film.
RELATED | How 'The Bikeriders', filmed in Cincinnati, was brought to life — and theaters
Now, the bar is officially open to the public. Memorabilia from the film hangs on the walls, including an original script and pieces of the set.
Josh and Sierra worked as extras on the film too.
“Sometimes, I'm like, ‘Did that really happen?’” Josh said.
“How did I get in this room?” Sierra said.
The family said it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience — especially watching crews set their property on fire for a scene in the film.
“It was 20 feet high,” Brian said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I hope they didn't kill the sign.’ That's when the sign got burned, but they made it all right. They actually treated us really well.”
Crews replaced the sign and the original is hanging in the back of the bar.
The bar officially opened in early April and the family says it’s becoming “busier and busier.” While WCPO crews were inside Sunday, a woman walked inside wearing a t-shirt with a photo of actor Austin Butler in the movie.
The family says this chapter is far from over for them.
“Any time we can do to be creative, be involved in another movie, we'd love to do it,” Josh said.
They’re focused on music, too, adding a stage inside and inviting acts from Nashville to perform.
Brian said many neighbors are just happy the business is back open.
“The older people that had memories here, they are just in awe,” said Brian. “Now that we've reopened, the whole neighborhood seems to be coming back to life.”
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