Nick’s owner dies Sunday

Richard “Dick” Barnes, owner of Bloomington landmark Nick’s English Hut, died Sunday at age 83.

“He was a gentleman in the old sense of the word,” said Bob “Hebe” Hebenstreit, Nick’s bartender.

Nick Hrisomalos founded Nick’s in 1927. When Hrsimalos died, his son sold Nick’s to Barnes in 1957. Barnes, a 1952 graduate from IU’s business school, was then the owner of Café Pizzaria a few doors down on Kirkwood Avenue. Since Barnes took over, Nick’s patrons cheered the IU men’s basketball team to three national championships and shook hands with presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Hebenstreit got a call Monday morning from Nick’s General Manager Mike Hall, who told him Barnes died.

“I was sorry to see him go,” Hebenstreit said.

Hebenstreit met Barnes when he started working at Nick’s “somewhere in the ’80s.” Barnes stopped in at least five days a week at that time, and he always treated everyone with respect, Hebenstreit said. Barnes was respectful and demanded they respect his bar.

“He insisted on beer-clean glasses,” Hebenstreit said, or glasses that have a line of foam on the side, marking the level of beer after each sip.

Barnes wanted every part of his bar as clean as the glasses, Hebenstreit said.
“The old line was ‘a clean bar is a happy bar,’” he said.