Fred Nemr immigrated to the US from Lebanon in the mid 1960s. He was married to Barbara, a woman he met three days before marrying. Fred was a hard worker and took a job, like everyone else in Akron, at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. After 12 long years making tires in a blistering factory for pennies, Fred was laid off and looked to open his own business. He began with neighborhood bars in Barberton, OH and then tried North Hill (Northern Akron). He soon grew frustrated dealing with the locals that brought bad attitudes and destructive personalities, not to mention their dislike for immigrants. Fred felt the need to escape the neighborhood bar concept and create something bigger.
After a few hard years dealing with various local crowds, Fred and Barbara bought a piece of property that was rumored to be “untouchable.” The property was located on the main drag of the University of Akron’s downtown campus. At the time, 306 E. Exchange St. was called the Zips Varsity Club. It was for sale for quite a while and, for whatever reason, no one was able to close the deal on the property. The Zips Varsity Club was simply a place for college students to play video games, drink beer and hangout. Barb had a vision for the property to become something more than “just a bar." She already dreamt that the name would be Thursday’s. It just happened that everything positive thus far in their lives had occurred on a Thursday.
Barb often says she didn’t know the difference between Bud Light and Budweiser when she started. Her broken English was learned from watching TV as a stay at home mom with three kids for over 15 years. Fred, then 53 years old in 1983, was reluctant to enlist the help of his wife. Nonetheless, Barb was persistent and forced her way into helping run the business. After months of learning things the hard way, The Zips Varsity club was given a makeover and soon became Thursday’s Lounge. Fred’s hard nose, old-school ways and Barb’s risky, modern thinking made for remarkable team. Despite failing at the two previous attempts at the bar-businessk, they felt Thursday’s had a magical presence before it even opened.
In the fall of 1983, Thursday’s opened as a college hangout. The University of Akron was thriving and, back then, just opening your doors meant instant business. Thursday’s was almost immediately a huge success. Not long after, Fred and Barb spent about $25,000 to install a state-of-the-art dancefloor; a gutsy move considering it required changing the look and feel of the club.
After a few years, the University’s surrounding area started a decline and the crowd changed. The inside of Thursday’s looked a lot like Fred’s earlier bars, though with a rougher biker crowd, before present times where douches and lawyers buy Harley's to fufill their Peter Fonda Easy Rider fantasies. It was 1986 and Thursday’s needed another change.
Down the street from Thursday’s were a few other bars that collectively made what was then called the “Zip Strip.” A few of their DJs got into a new music scene called “New Wave," but the other bars were not interested in the crowd that came with that culture. Shortly thereafter, Billy Cunningham and his friends tried bringing that scene to Thursday’s. At first, Fred and Barb were hesitant on allowing what most people back then called “freak music,” and, of course, people who were considered “freaks." Blue Mohawks, black attire, combat boots and a shoegaze style of dancing were not common in the mid-1980s (how funny is it now, in 2011 that Target, Old Navy and Gap Kids have seemed to have marketed this style very successfully). Fred and Barb eventually put their concerns aside and Thursday’s became the only bar within a six hour drive that played underground and cutting-edge alternative music. Business was good again; however the reputation that Thursday’s was a bar where “the freaks go” stuck for almost another 15 years.
Fred and Barb loved the music. They also became very fond of their employees and the loyalty of their new customers. Barb’s charismatic attitude was an instant hit. Her ball-busting but motherly instincts became as synonimous with the bar as the music. If you were too skinny, she offered you food. If it was a cold snowy night, she yelled at you to put a jacket on. The crowd loved it, and by the late 1980s everyone in Akron's underground music scene made Thursday’s thier second home. The bar grew so much that it was too much for just Fred and Barb to handle.
Their oldest daughter, Monique, joined the business when she was 16. She became infatuated with the music scene as well and eventually worked with the other employees, including Larry Smith (a long time employee and family friend), in booking events and marketing Thursday’s into the well know alternative nightclub it is today. Mark Nemr, the Nemr’s oldest son, started shortly after his older sister Monique. He quickly became a fast serving bartender with a no-bullshit attitude.
Thursday’s expanded the building for the third time since 1983. As Monique and Mark took on more of the day to day operations, the Thursday's Lounge began another incline in the 1990s. Other bars just couldn't replicate that same sence of community that Thursday's had, and the loud music and flashing dancefloor was became an Akron icon. In 1992, Fred and Barb's youngest son, Mario, joined the business at age 14.
Since 1992, Thursday’s has grown to become Akron’s (as well as Ohio’s) premier alternative music nightclub. By the late 1990s Monique and Mark left to pursue their respective careers after graduating college. By 1998, Mario and Barb were running the day to day operations. Thursday’s continued to grow and new groups of customers continued to cycle through every few years, always staying on the edge of what's new and hip in alternative music. Since its inception, Thursday’s catered to multiple generations, and hosted its 20th anniversary in 2003.
Fred Nemr died on April 5, 2005, and was mourned by the thousands of patrons from over the years. He was a straight shooter who gained the respect of his customers and employees by treating everyone like family. The Thursday’s Family approach is still in use today.
If there's one thing for sure, Thursday’s has been going for 27 years, and counting, and we hope you continue support us. Thank you for your continued support and patronage. You are family to us.