The SoIN tourism folks have this to say about Hugh E. Bir’s Cafe in New Albany, known locally as the “ORIGINAL 4th Street Live,” and located at 324 E. Market St.
You’ll get a down-home, part-honky-tonk, probably-won’t-order-a-martini kind of vibe at Hugh E. Bir’s. The place is full of stories. If you’re lucky, you might even catch the legend/owner himself, Hugh E. Bir, on stage.
Hugh’s parents bought the bar in 1966, and he took it over in 1988; his kids are in line to succeed him. Apart from the Prohibition years, it is thought that the present building has been used as a tavern since 1839.
For more about the life and times of Hugh E. Bir, who is as beloved a civic ambassador as any elected official in town, listen to the episode of The Pubcast embedded above (from 2024).
