The Read House Bar & Billiards Room
On June 3, 1890, it was announced that Kelly & Davenport had won the lease on The Read House bar and billiard room. Davenport would retire from the company less than a month later, leaving his interests all to Kelly as successor.
Chattanooga Daily Times June 3, 1890
It was quite a coveted lease and many people were surprised how much Kelly paid for it. Oh, and pay attention to the sentence about Dan O’Connor. It’ll come back up later.
But this sale didn’t happen without a little bit of . . . drama.
In those days, establishments like The Read House would allow businesses within their premises to be leased. For example, when The Read House opened in 1872, Kelly & then-partner J.G. Webb owned a restaurant “under The Read House” (which was really just the first floor, and the hotel began on the second floor). When Kelly purchased the lease for the bar and billiards room in 1890, he was allowed to conduct business within. But, Kelly had no intention of actually running the bar and billiards himself.
This is where the drama begins.
Chattanooga Daily Times September 24, 1890
Just a couple corrections to this article - J.W. Kelly did not officially relinquish his interests in the bar and billiards room at The Read House until October 1898. So, Carrington did not “own” the bar. In effect, he was leasing it from Kelly. Think of it like this: J.T. Read & Son (S.R. Read) owned the building. Kelly leased it from them for a lump sum, and became the landlord. Carrington paid Kelly money monthly to run the bar.
Carrington wasn’t the only one who wanted the lease on the bar & billiards room. Remember, this was the most lucrative location in the city. You know someone else is gonna want it. Three days later . . .
Chattanooga Daily Times September 27, 1890
In the first place, Kelly was not the kind of business man who would bid on lucrative real estate on behalf of someone else. He was an astute business man, who owned many businesses, locations, homes, and other real estate. He wouldn’t have let something just go like this. Likely, when O’Connor asked Kelly about bidding on the property, Kelly had already decided to secure the lease himself.
O’Connor’s injunction was eventually dissolved. There is evidence that Kelly opened the bar and that Carrington ran it for him. Pool tournaments in early 1891 were held in the billiards room. Also, advertisements touted “Liebotschener on draft” at The Read House Bar.
The case versus Kelly was heard in Chancery Court on August 21, 1891 and J.W. Kelly lost. Kelly’s lawyers filed an immediate appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Chattanooga Daily Times August 29, 1891
In 1872, a man named Ed Mullery moved to Chattanooga and began working for Kelly & Davenport. In January 1888, he left the business and opened his own saloon on Market Street. The bar was technically owned by J.W. Kelly and ran by Mullery (a point of contention, at the dissolution of the partnership and sale of the saloon, which saw Mullery suing Kelly in 1905 and losing on appeal in 1908). Mullery’s second in command was a man named Charlie Quintel.
You know that joke, “A man walks into a bar and . . .” Well, on this particular day, O’Connor walked into Mullery’s bar and more drama ensued.
Chattanooga Daily Times November 19, 1891
A few days later, the state Supreme Court overturned the original decision and decided that the lease was Kelly’s.
Chattanooga Daily Times November 22, 1891
In January 1892, Quintel left Mullery’s bar and went to go and manage The Read House bar for Kelly. Carrington moved to another location. (By the way, we found a bit of evidence that suggests O’Connor and Carrington were friends. So, it’s likely that’s how O’Connor found out about Carrington managing the bar & billiards room.)
Chattanooga Daily Times January 11, 1892