Sidebar adding beach volleyball court to spur friendly activity

Sidebar is bringing the beach to Lakeview.

Owner John Davis Conner said he is hoping to offer customers the chance to get out in the sun and play beach volleyball tournaments and pickup games as soon as he gets approval from the city. 

He wants to offer locals the chance to make competitive teams as well as compete against other bars such as Innisfree and Tin Roof. 

Conner said providing active games while serving alcohol is becoming more popular around the country. After one of his friends gave him the idea, he did some research and discovered how successful neighboring cities were.

“We’re getting into being a healthy society,” he said.

In addition, he wants to start corn hole tournaments and life-sized beer pong games. Conner said that anyone 21 years or older can participate.

People and regular groups who come to Sidebar have shown interest in wanting to exercise and drink beer, he said. But he also wants to install a raised deck that will be a viewing area for people who don’t want to get in the sand. 

“We hope to serve beer out there,” Conner said, but he added it depends on approval.

He began the approval process in January but said projects like this take time. Already, he has gone through the zoning and building departments. He aims for the volleyball beach area to be ready in a couple of months.

He met with the city on July 13 to take the final step. He’s also in the process of opening Sidebar on Sundays and asking food trucks to serve meals on some days. 

“I hope this is something the city can get behind, and I hope it will become as big as I think it will,” Conner said.