One of the owners of the Union, Eric Gunn, stood across the street and watched the flames move down the block toward the bar. “I came up and cinders were shooting two blocks away,” Gunn said. “It was an insane fire in terms of how massive it was, how much smoke was coming up from it, how many firefighters were there.” The fire was stopped at the Union Bar & Grill before it reached Jackie O’s, but not before havoc was wreaked on the building. “I didn’t believe it was real for a second. For me, this place is very much the reason why I’m still in Athens after going to school. I found a community here and a job that I really enjoy,” said Chris Dodd, a bartender at the Union. “I felt like all of that had disappeared for a moment.” The Union, undoubtedly 84 | THREAD
named for the street it’s rooted on, sustained blunt damages. Once a space for banging music, good drinks, and inclusive and welcoming bartenders and patrons, the Union, which has been the Union since the 1920s, was shut down indefinitely. Coretta King, an Athens resident and regular at the Union, said she was distraught when she learned that her favorite bar was gone. “I didn’t know where to go, mostly because the bartenders were definitely a big part of why I’d go there, as well as the atmosphere.” Approximately two weeks after the condemnation of other buildings on the block, management of the Union were told that it was structurally sound enough to not be demolished. So construction and renovation started. What was a glimmer of hope in