HAMLET — John Martin and T.J. Barfield have wanted to be bar owners for a while.
That vision will officially come to fruition Saturday when they open the Landmark Tavern on Hamlet’s Main Street.
The two met a few years ago at Axe to Grind, a bar across the tracks on Hamlet Avenue, and have “been hanging out together ever since.”
“For the past two years, it’s been an idea of ours to open our own place, do our own thing, make people feel safe,” Barfield said Thursday afternoon, taking a break from making the final renovations.
When Martin moved to town in 2020, that site — then Hail Mary’s Tavern — was the first bar he went to, “and I liked it.”
The building has housed several bars in the past century, from the Murray Hill Club and Atkinson’s Pool Room to Sports Connection and most recently, Mel’s Place.
Martin said he “disappeared” for about two years and when he came back, the bar was closed. He said he reached out to the property owner and said he would be interested in leasing it.
“I like to go out on the weekends, but to go out somewhere and have a cold drink, you’ve got to drive all the way (to) the other side of Rockingham,” Martin said. “I don’t live in Rockingham, I live in Hamlet. I don’t want to drive that far to go shoot a game of pool or throw darts or drink a cold beer, and there wasn’t really any place in town (where) you could do that.”
Just before making a pitch to the Hamlet City Council on Feb. 10 regarding opening a bar and restaurant in the old VFW building on City Lake, Martin said he received a call about the Main Street property and signed the lease 10 days later.
Since then, they have been working on renovations including: building tables and a new stage; painting the inside and outside; buying barstools, a dart board and pool tables; and installing a jukebox and ATM.
A new stage for bands has been constructed inside the Landmark Tavern.
Barfield said he was most proud of the front of the building.
“We knew (from) the time we walked in that that green ugliness had to go,” Barfield said.
They tried several ideas before settling on a gold trim, trying to match the Lackey Building across the street.
Martin said Landmark Tavern will have strict dress, behavior and music guidelines.
“It’s not a dance club, so we’re not playing the booty-shaking stuff, we’re not doing any crazy acid rock,” Martin said. “We don’t want to alienate anyone. You’ve got outliers that like certain kinds of music … the money can’t be made there, we want the middle crowd. You might not like the song, you might not know the song, but you can still tap your foot to the beat.”
Jeans and T-shirts are fine, Barfield said, as long as pants are not below the waist and shirts have no vulgarity.
“Pull your pants up, look respectable, act respectable,” Martin added. “This is our bar, so it’s basically our house.”
There will be no membership fee for Landmark Tavern. Barfield said they think the decorum rules will “keep some of the riff-raff out.” Martin added that the bar will be first responder-friendly.
Barfield continued, saying that there will not be a cover charge except with the possibility of a band — which they plan to have at least once a month — and that, when there is one, it likely won’t exceed $5.
In addition to the bands, the Landmark will have karaoke, hosted by David Dixon, on the weekends.
Barfield said the planned hours are 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours will be determinant on large sporting events.
As for this Saturday’s grand opening, the doors will open at 4 p.m., with a ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m., followed by a performance by Whiskey River (before they play a gig at Axe to Grind) and karaoke. Food will also be served.
Martin said the City Lake establishment is still in the plans, adding that their goal is to open at least five bars in the region.
Landmark Tavern will be the third business to open on Main Street in the past several months. Riverside Bakery and Coffee Shop opened in November and Big Tomato Marketing moved to Hamlet from Concord earlier this month.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to show the correct operating hours. 3-26-2026 11:06 pm
