Heavy metal bar Halford’s takes over Corner Tavern in Little Five Points - SaportaReport

Oct 20, 2024

In the heart of Little Five Points, the shuttered Little Five Corner Tavern door has turned hot pink. Behind it is Halford’s, one of Atlanta’s newest — and fewest — heavy metal dive bars.

But it’s not a corporate takeover. Longtime owner of all tavern locations Mike Rabb has handed over the reins to a new leader: longtime employee Mikey Braswell.

For owner-operator Mikey Braswell, the dream was always a heavy metal bar. The metalhead grew up in Bogotá, Colombia where the music scene was thriving and heavy metal bars were all around.

But after moving to the United States in 2005 Braswell struggled to find the perfect heavy metal hangout spot. He was still a self-proclaimed “bar rat,” spending most of his early 20s in the city’s bar scene.

Braswell got a job at Corner Tavern in 2008, moving around locations and positions until 2022. He was the tavern’s head chef for about a decade, and a general manager the rest of the time. Braswell said it taught him a lot of aspects of the job. It also made him a friendly face.

“A lot of people knew me in the neighborhood,” Braswell said.

When Little Five Corner Tavern shuttered in July with no announcements about what was next for the space, regulars got antsy: they wondered if the restaurant would stay empty or get taken over by an unknown corporation.

But Corner Tavern owner Mike Rabb had a plan. He told Mikey Braswell that he wanted to retire from active business but would “pass the torch.”

“You always want to have a higher position. You always want to move up in life,” Braswell said. “Rabb gave me the opportunity to do my dream.”

On the night Little Five Corner Tavern closed, Braswell revealed the truth to a few of the worried regulars. He would be taking it over and transforming the local spot. Not a corporate restaurant, but a guy who “lives two blocks down the road.”

Andrew, a longtime employee who worked at the East Point Corner Tavern with Braswell as a kitchen manager, said he was wary of the unknown change. It wasn’t until Halford’s opened that he found out about the redesign.

“I found out what happened, and I was like, that makes sense,” Andrew said. “At the original Corner Tavern, that was the vibe.”

Fitting the “vibe” of the original Corner Tavern was a process. First, the building needed major renovations on things like the pipes and kitchen floors that would require closing. Once shuttered, Braswell only had a few months to overhaul the space.

His vision was clear: a heavy metal hangout spot and dive bar that welcomed everybody, while paying homage to the previous tavern. The name, Halford’s started as a joke but quickly grew into a “statement” about the identity of the bar.

It’s a reference to Rob Halford, the lead vocalist and frontman of Judas Priest, widely considered one of the greatest metal frontmen of all time. Halford was also one of the first heavy metal musicians to ever come out as gay, and Braswell wanted to signal the bar as a “safe place” for all identities and backgrounds.

“We went full force on this theme,” Braswell said.

Braswell is far from finished with his redesign, but certain changes are evident. The entire bar has been painted a dark and moody black, except for the hot pink front door and bathroom doors. The lights are a glowy multicolor that shows off hand-painted murals and a collection of heavy metal posters and flags on practically every surface.

The makeover took help from all of Braswell’s friends and neighbors. One friend who works at the nearby Java Lords donated a series of old metal band posters from the 1980s that had never been unrolled. Others brought in their flags to decorate the bar.

Tattoo artist Mike D. from Renegade Tattooing Co. in Decatur painted murals, which Braswell jokes he might get inked on his own skin. The rest of the walls are covered in homages to popular metal groups like Slipknot, Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osborne.

“Everyone keeps saying, “I feel like I’m in my own bedroom,” and that’s what I want everyone to feel like,” Braswell said. “Like you’re home and in a safe place.”

But the old bar is still recognizable. The iconic Jameson chandelier, which was installed in 2015 after the fire closed Little Five Corner Tavern for two years is immediately visible, as is the original wood bar. The COVID-19 safety barriers between booths have been plastered in even more posters, but the seating remains. The signage out front still says the Corner Tavern name, too.

“I wanted to make it feel not like the Corner Tavern and feel like my bar, and it’s still kind of toeing the line there,” Braswell said. “When people come in they’re like, “okay, the structure is the same.”

The owner-operator said he wants people to know they came from Corner Tavern and that this is the “birth of a child” of the original business.

Still, Braswell is clear that Halford’s is his dream — and his way of keeping Little Five Points weird.

“Little Five Points needed something to keep it weird, you know, because that’s the theme of Little Five in general,” Braswell said. “We’re the weird kids; we’re the artsy kids.”

He joked that his bar is for people who wear all black in 100 degree summer heat and all pink in 20 degree winter weather. In short, its for his community.

“I already know my neighborhood; I already know the people that hang out around here,” Braswell said.

That’s why Braswell decided to make a decidedly pro-LGBTQ+ statement, both through the name and the bar’s Instagram. He said many of his closest friends are in the community, and ensuring their safety was an “unspoken priority.”

Halford’s isn’t a gay bar, but it is gay-friendly. Braswell said it came from hearing community members’ desire to go to a gay bar, drink a beer and listen to Slayer. He knows Atlanta has a bevy of gay bars and clubs, but few fill that need. Halford’s was a natural fit.

“I feel like the metal community is very accepting of who you are, regardless of if you’re straight, queer or not,” Braswell said. “That’s the thing I’ve always been in love with. Being a metalhead is like we’re just a bunch of people that look angry and tough, but we’re all just a bunch of teddy bears.”

Halford’s isn’t just for metalheads, though Braswell said people might become converts if they hang around. After one visit, customers like Andrew are already prepared to return.

“I’m not a metal fan, but I’ll come back here,” Andrew said. “It’s Mike and Mikey, right?”

Halford’s is already in its “soft opening” stages, with plans to be open for the annual Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade that draws thousands to the neighborhood on Oct. 19 and 20. Currently, the limited menu offers a few of Braswell’s creations under an American and South American street food cuisine: plantains, burgers and salchipapas, a combination of fries and hot dogs with “fancy sauce.”

The full menu will drop with the bar’s official opening, but in the meantime customers can choose from a few appetizers and entrees, affordable draft beers and basic cocktails. Braswell hopes to have a “bigger bang” grand opening party by Halloween. More updates can be found on the business Instagram.