With closing of the Lighthouse Lounge, its artistic community heads elsewhere
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- This undated photo shows the Lighthouse Lounge on Historic 25th Street.
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- Patrick Ramsay recites a poem during PoetFlow on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, at the Lighthouse Lounge in Ogden.
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- Scott Rogers, Natalie Haws and Shane Osguthorpe, center, of “Ogden City Limits,” pose for a photo during a visit to Lighthouse Lounge on Sunday, June 27, 2021, as guests on podcasts hosted by R. Brandon Long and Todd Oberndorfer, right, and Paddy Teglia, left.
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- Jazz musician Joe McQueen, 96, performs at Lighthouse Lounge Saturday, Feb. 5, 2016, in Ogden.
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- In this undated photo, Brooke Mackintosh performs with Bob Niederhauser at the Lighthouse Lounge.
OGDEN — The Lighthouse Lounge on Historic 25th Street has long beckoned customers to drop in for a cocktail or brew, some tasty food, friendly conversation and live entertainment on open Mic nights.
And for many, the lively establishment became a haven to hang out and socialize. But in July, the iconic bar on Historic 25th Street changed hands and identity — marking the end of an era for the decades-old establishment.
According to a 2013 story in Weber State University’s student newspaper The Signpost, the Lighthouse Lounge began as a strip club in 1958 on the 300 block of 24th Street. Then in 2009, the Deseret News reported that the city’s updated ordinance on sexually oriented businesses forced the cabaret to either relocate or change its business format.
So in 2011, the Lighthouse Lounge reopened as a sports bar at 130 25th St., sporting its iconic sign reminiscent of the flashing towers guiding wayfarers into friendly ports.
In 2013, real estate broker Sue Wilkerson and her business partner bought the Lighthouse Lounge and built a thriving business that survived the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this July, they sold the property to Jeff and Karen Von Colln, who also own and operate a nearby financial planning business.
Jeff Von Colln recently declined a phone interview about their plans for the property, but he texted that “at this time, I’m going to let The Red Light Bar speak for itself once we’re open. Thank you for your interest!”
Wilkerson said she oversaw daily operations of the Lighthouse Lounge during her 10 ½ years of co-ownership.
“Accounting, permitting, payroll, licensing, repairs, payables — that was my realm,” Wilkerson said. “It was a full-time job outside of my full-time job.”
And all that work left her little time to spend with her beloved granddaughter. So selling the Ogden landmark made sense.
Wilkerson serves on Ogden’s Landmark Commission and said she would likely be among the first to know if that panel receives a request to retire the long-familiar Lighthouse Lounge sign. So far, that hasn’t happened.
Finding community
Paddy Teglia — a transplant from the Chicago area — worked in some capacity for the Lighthouse Lounge for eight years and served as the bar’s full-time entertainment director for the last 2 ½ of those years.
In that role, Teglia — a singer/songwriter himself — booked bands, posted on social media, ran sound for all events, and hosted weekly open mic and vinyl nights.
While Teglia initially had landed in Farmington to work for a tech education company, he soon discovered Ogden and “fell in love with it.”
“It hit me like the kind of town I’d like to live in. Working class but artistic, very kind, very welcoming,” Teglia said.
And the Lighthouse Lounge soon became his port in the storm.
“The first few times I went in, I’d come from Farmington for the open mic night on Thursdays. Most of the people were writers, poets, comedians, musicians,” Teglia said. “We’d sit on the back patio and just talk for hours about anything and everything. The LGBTQIA community took it in as their safe bar. All the artists felt they could go there and be themselves.”
The Lighthouse Lounge Facebook page marked the bar’s swan song on July 27:
“It’s the final night of The Lighthouse Lounge and we couldn’t have timed our Latin Dance Party any more perfectly. Doors at 7pm, $5 Cover, Music at 8pm. Come say your goodbyes to The Lighthouse Lounge with us all tonight. See you soon!”
Teglia reflected on the abrupt notice service employees received regarding the bar’s sale and pending job changes.
“Those of us who were let go, they did it by text,” Teglia said of the message he received on July 28. “They did retain some of the staff, but a number of them quit right out of the gate because if they did offer them a job, it came with a pretty substantial pay cut.”
After the initial shock wore off, Teglia said that he and others (cooks, servers, bartenders) began to pick up the pieces and move forward.
“For the most part, the (Lighthouse) staff had a reputation … so I think a lot of offers came real quick for most of us,” Teglia said. “For me, I’ve had some good calls, with more opportunities on the horizon.”
Teglia jumped at offers to host an all ages open mic night on Tuesdays at The Monarch (455 25th St.) and also a standup comedy open mic night on Mondays at Funk ‘n Dive Bar (2550 Washington Blvd.).
Teglia also recently lined up a new “Saturdays with Paddy” gig from 6-8 p.m. at the Thirsty Horse in Ogden (3611 S. Washington Blvd.). He posted this announcement on Facebook: “Starting this Saturday come join me for songs, stories, and jokes. Let us raise a glass, have a nice dinner, and start Saturday night off right. See you there!”
“It’s a lot of being encouraging and being supportive,” Teglia said of his role hosting such events. “But it’s so worthwhile. At the end of the day, I can’t imagine not doing it at least in some capacity.”
