ROCKINGHAM — Richard Robinson still has some work to do before the grand opening of Double Vision on Saturday — and afterward — but it’s not as much as he’s already put in.
He said he has shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears working on his vision for Richmond County’s newest bar.
“I’ve been in here for 92 days straight,” he said after bringing in several cases of beer Friday afternoon. “(We) ripped it down to, basically, the foundation and built it completely back up … we just did a complete overhaul.”
The disabled Army veteran who also worked for CSX commented that he didn’t think he’d ever worked a derailment that “made me feel this tired.”
Everything has either been replaced or touched up both inside and out, from the windows to the walls and from the bathrooms to the bar and the raised laminate dance floor.
The building also has a brand new tin roof because Robinson said “it leaked everywhere.”
All the woodwork in the establishment has been handmade, with the bar and high-top tables along the front wall bearing the letters “DV.”
The bar will also have a full point-of-sale system that will allow the use of credit cards and help the three bar keepers keep up with tabs and inventory.
He still has to pick up the jukebox and second pool table, but already has a dart machine and golf game set up.
Robinson hasn’t done it alone. He’s had a little help from his friends.
His girlfriend, Cierra Billingsley, had a major role in decorating and developing a signature drink.
Wes Grant has also lent a hand or two.
“If it wasn’t for Wes, I probably wouldn’t have met my deadline,” Robinson said. “He’s helped me out a lot.”
He said there have been several other people who have been instrumental in bringing his vision into focus.
Robinson’s grandfather, Grady Dobbins, was the owner of the building when it was the Gold Dust Lounge from 1992-1999.
As a tribute, Robinson left the mural at the back of the stage which features a cowboy pulling a donkey.
The original idea for the bar’s name came from a friend’s girlfriend, who said that’s what she would name one, and Robinson stuck with it.
But he also has a personal reason.
“I took the way I always watched (my grandfather) run things, his vision … and then I took the way I wanted things and brought them together,” he said. “His vision, my vision — it became Double Vision.”
Robinson said Double Vision will be “classy” and that he “promised to bring the nicest thing” the county’s ever had.
Smoking won’t be allowed inside but there are plans for a closed in smoking deck out back.
The bar will also be a private establishment with a membership fee, a strict dress code and a one-and-done policy for troublemakers.
“One bad apple will run off five good-paying customers that are loyal to you,” he said. “Any type of drama … that’s it, I don’t need you in here.”
Three security guards will be around to help enforce those policies.
Robinson said he’s appealing to a totally different crowd than most other bars in the county.
“For the people that don’t want to go out around here … we go to Moore County most of the time when we do go out,” he said. “I feel as Richmond County residents, we’re handing all of our funds to a different county that we don’t even live in.”
It also eliminates the risk of having to drive all the way back without “having $10,000 tied up in a DUI.”
Friday nights will be “Club Night” and Robinson plans to have live music on most Saturday nights.
August Burning — fronted by his cousin Jeremy Robinson — will perform this weekend.
With it being the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, Robinson had planned to have a taco truck — but that fell through about noon on Friday. However, Taco Loco will provide a platter with 100 beef and 100 chicken tacos.
There will also be Dos Equis beer on tap, along with two domestics and Duck Hook Cream Ale from Southern Pines Brewing — the only craft beer on tap in the county, he said.
But in the meantime, there’s still some work to do.
“Tonight,” he said, “we’re going to be rolling as hard as we can.”
