Castleton students and area residents have a new place for live music, pool and pizza – and it’s being brought to them by a Castleton alum.

 On Sat. Oct. 22, co-owners Mike Mamunes and former Lake House Pub owner Dave Rogers hosted the pre-opening event for their new bar, The Fishtail Tavern. The Tavern is located beneath the Trak Inn on Lake Bomoseen, directly across from the Edgewater Resort.

Although bar is located about five miles, from campus, it is about the same distance as “The Dog,” which many 21-year-olds travel to on most Thursday nights for 50-cent drafts.

And many traveled for the opening to check it out and to hear live music from Castleton-based Twiddle. 

“I think it was great,” said Mamunes. “I think we had about 120-130 people, and  I was hoping for about 100 or so, so it was pretty much up to my expectations. I don’t think we even marketed as much as we could have. We didn’t go to Green Mountain or Middlebury or anything, we just went to Castleton,” he said.

The bar was widely represented by not only Castleton students and community members, but also by faculty members and alumni. Many said they came to support Mamunes, a 2010 Castleton graduate.

Castleton alumnus Nick Belizzi, who also graduated in 2010, traveled from Troy, N.Y. to attend the opening and said that the atmosphere was phenomenal and that there was “good people, great music and a great time.”

The pre-opening event attracted many students thanks to the performance of Twiddle, and an advertisement of free-pizza. There was a $10 cover charge for this specific night.

“The environment was a lot of fun because there were so many different generations there and it was a very comfortable place to be,” said Castleton junior Sarah Ethier. “There was a fire pit outside, places to sit all around, and there were too many activities to do whether it was dancing, sitting at the bar or playing pool, it was just such a chill atmosphere.” 

The Fishtail Tavern will not be officially opening until mid-November, but Mamunes already has many plans.

“We definitely plan to hold some private functions,” he said. “Pretty soon we are going to renovate and make the bar bigger and get some big screen TVs. That way, we can have Super Bowl parties and that kind of stuff. Additionally, we are going to have the lead singer of Twiddle there performing every Wednesday it looks like.”

The owners also plan to continue to make and deliver pizza and are working on having a pub menu.

Communication professor Robert Waugneux, who has played music with members of Twiddle in the past, said he was happy there is another venue in town for musicians. “I liked it and hope it expands to further opportunities for talented people,” he said.