Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Rockwell.
Hi Brian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I purchased the Crazy Fox Saloon/Historic Weaver Hotel from Larry Williams in 2017 all while I work my full time job with Crawford County Solid Waste Management District as the Executive Director. I am still working my full time job but wanted to purchase the Crazy Fox/Weaver due to all my life I have gone to the Crazy Fox Saloon with friends growing up in Bucyrus. Since then I have cleaned it up from its rough biker bar to what it is today, a place for friends and family to get together for a cold drink, music, pool tables, dart boards and friendships. The place has a original Speakeasy in the basement, build in 1920 and used till 1933. The brick used to build the Speakeasy was left over brick from when the whole building was built in 1916 by Henry Oberlander and two tunnels came into the Speakeasy, one from the back from the railroad tracks and the other from the main square of Bucyrus. After Prohibition ended in 1933, the bar was called The Plaza and later became the Crazy Fox Saloon after Larry Williams called it that. The name came from him being called “Crazy Larry” and he said, “Look at all these Foxes here in the Saloon”, hence, Crazy Fox Saloon. The old hotel was originally called the “Highway Hotel” due to US30 highway was right out front back in the day. It was later called Weaver Hotel after a gentleman named Joseph Weaver purchased the building but never lived in Bucyrus and owned other hotels within the state. I still own the building and businesses but with Covid hitting in early 2020 it has taken a turn on business due to Covid actually taught people to stay home more for entertainment. It is my hopes that the public starts going out more to keep not only my Saloon open but other small businesses really could use the business as well. The Crazy Fox Saloon…… “Where You Are Only a Stranger Once!”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Covid really put a hurt on the Saloon and the Historic Hotel, to this day it struggles to stay open but with the grace above I continue to do my best.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have always worked in Bucyrus as a Bucyrus native, started working as soon as high school at the Bucyrus, Tiffin, Marion Kmarts 1978-1984, then Swan Rubber in the Banbury Dept 1984-1986 then Pacal Blades (Pacal Calmenson & Co.) 1986-2000 now with Crawford County Solid Waste Management District as Executive Director (landfill, recycling, HHW, government and Ohio EPA). I have always wanted to be a Saloon owner, to interact with customers and hear their stories of old pasts, history intrigues me and the old Weaver Hotel building really has its history and ghosts, yes, ghosts as we have daily occurrences happen and could be from the past to present. I am very happy to keep this building going for the history aspect of things but it is a costly building to maintain with the cost of everything going up, it is a struggle at times.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Being older now, the lesson I have really learned is that a bar or saloon is and always will be the place for a person to go to when they are down or out. To talk to the bartender or barmaid about your troubles is a daily thing and definitely with my place, I will never let someone go hungry. The Fox has food along with the beer and liquor and if things have gone bad for a person, the one thing I will never tolerate is someone being hungry, we will feed you to keep you going in hopes of you finding what is needed in your life. Food may break me as cost has gone up terribly but seeing someone hungry is something I cannot look away from.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.crazyfoxsaloon.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crazyfoxsaloonspeakeasy
