Anyone who has spent real time in downtown Bloomington already knows the building at 423 East Kirkwood Avenue. Nick's English Hut has served the same spot since 1927, and this year that run reaches 99 years. In a city people sometimes reduce to its university calendar, a business with a history that long says something worth paying attention to, especially if you are weighing a move here and trying to understand what this town is underneath the campus.

How Did Nick's English Hut Get Its Start?

Nick Hrisomalos immigrated to the United States at 14 years old with a third-grade education. He worked in steel mills in Illinois, then returned to Greece to serve in the Greek army during the First Balkan War. Back in the United States, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918 and contracted the Spanish flu before he was deployed to Europe. Before he ever opened a bar, he ran a peanut and popcorn stand, a shoe and hat cleaning service, and a soda fountain with his brother Tom. In 1927, he opened Nick's English Hut at 423 East Kirkwood Avenue, according to the restaurant's own history.

How Did a Bar Survive Opening During Prohibition?

Nick opened his doors in the middle of Prohibition, which did not end until the 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933. That means the business ran its first several years without serving alcohol at all. Nick's obtained its liquor license in 1934, the year after repeal, and has held that license at the same Kirkwood Avenue address ever since.

What Kept It Going Through Nearly a Century of Change?

The GI Bill brought a wave of new students to Indiana University after World War Two, and Nick's business reportedly doubled by 1945. Between 1965 and 1979, the building expanded to add a backroom and several upstairs rooms that regulars still call the Attic, the Hump Room, and the Hoosier Room. Pizza ovens came in 1975. Over the decades, the building grew from a small storefront into a space that seats several hundred people on a busy night, eventually absorbing the building next door. Ownership has changed hands more than once since Nick's death, but the business has stayed locally run and has never left that location on Kirkwood.

Why Does a Bar Matter to Bloomington's Bigger Story?

Nick's English Hut keeps a Wall of Fame with photos of IU athletes and Olympians who have come through its doors, and it has been the site of celebrations after Indiana's national basketball championships, starting with the 1940 title and continuing through 1987. Alumni come back and point out where they used to sit. Current students are making the same kind of memories their parents made a generation earlier.

I bring this up with relocating buyers because Bloomington gets flattened into "college town" more often than a small city its size deserves. This is a city of about 85,000 people with businesses that have run continuously since before World War Two, and Kirkwood Avenue carries more of that layered history than most visitors realize on a first trip through.

What This Means If You Are Looking at Downtown Bloomington

Clients who are considering a move into downtown Bloomington ask me about more than square footage and price per foot. They want to know what the neighborhood feels like day to day, and a business like Nick's is part of that answer. I have written before about what it is like living near downtown Bloomington, and about how that compares to buying further out toward the edges of town if you are weighing downtown against the outskirts. Kirkwood Avenue's mix of long-running businesses and newer additions, including the weekly gathering of food trucks a short distance away at Switchyard Park, is part of what makes this stretch of the city work the way it does.

If you are relocating for a job at one of Bloomington's employers, or you are trying to understand what kind of city this is before you buy, I am glad to talk through it. I have been doing this for over 20 years, and buildings like the one on the corner of Kirkwood still tell me more about a place than any brochure ever will.

Lesa Miller, Broker | REALTOR®
Lesa Miller Real Estate | RE/MAX Acclaimed Properties
(812) 360-3863 | [email protected]
LesaMillerRealEstate.com

Serving Bloomington, Bedford, Ellettsville, Martinsville, Springville, and surrounding south-central Indiana communities.